


Fighting For Life

by bloodstream



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, F/F, USWNT, pretty much the whole team shows up at points
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-10
Updated: 2015-10-17
Packaged: 2018-04-13 21:47:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 34
Words: 50,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4538589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bloodstream/pseuds/bloodstream
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The zombie apocalypse hits the world... hard. But the USWNT has survived the Olympics and the World Cup, zombies can't be that hard? But the group not only has to battle the undead, but crazy gangs, other groups trying to survive, and themselves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work here on AO3. Hope you enjoy!!

“Can you turn that song off?” Alex demanded impatiently, rolling on her side to glare at Tobin. The older girl was lying in the other bed, blasting some alt rock song out of her phone. It wasn’t that the song sucked, but the season premiere of Say Yes To The Dress was on. Alex would be damned if she couldn’t hear it.

“There are more important things in life than your reality TV.” Tobin answered impassively, but turned the music off. Alex grinned and turned the volume up on her TV proudly. Sometimes Tobin wondered why she did what she did. The smug grin on Alex’s face made her want to wake the whole hotel up with the song.

Tobin begrudgingly watched the show as well. Even though she acted like she was above the trashy shows Alex loved, she couldn’t help but get into them once they started.

“I liked the really long dress. You know, the one with the lace all down the front.” Alex explained. “I hope she picks that one.”

“Same.” Tobin agreed, nodding. She tried to appear not into the show, but with the knowing look Alex shot her, Tobin was failing in that department.

Just as they were about to hear the girl say yes to the dress, the TV flickered and went out. Static overtook the channel and emitted a sound that grated against Alex’s nerves. She covered her ears and groaned. “What the hell?”

Tobin flicked off the TV to avoid the noise. She raised her eyebrows curiously. “That was weird, huh?”

“Does she say yes?” Alex shouted at the broken appliance.

“Al, I don’t think it’s gonna answer.”

Alex groaned and buried her head in a pillow. Tobin stared the TV for a while longer. “That’s weird though. It’s satellite TV. Hey, Al, I’m going to call Kelley and see if she’s having trouble too.”

“Go ahead.” Alex said, pulling her pink blankets over her body. The whole fact that she was missing SYTTD was making her feel defeated and completely invalid as a human. It was somewhat entertaining to Tobin. “I might as well nap if we’ve got nothing else to do.”

Tobin reached for her cell phone, but that wasn’t working either. The Wifi was non existent and her data didn’t seem to want to work either. At that second, the light they had on in the bathroom flickered and blew out, and Tobin could hear a shout of shock from the other side of the wall. Alex jumped and Tobin felt her heart jolt.

A couple seconds later, Tobin heard a knock on the wall followed by shout. “It’s Ashlyn! Did your stuff turn off?”

First she tried to turn the TV on, but when they wouldn’t work, Tobin knocked back. “Yeah man, come over here!”

She went to the door and opened it, waiting for Ashlyn. Ashlyn came in with Kling following, a robe wrapped around her and her hair still wet. Kling frowned. “My hair-dryer stopped working.”

Alex snickered.

“Come in.” Tobin welcomed the pair inside of the quaint hotel room. “Kling, you can borrow a pair of my sweats if you want to.”

Kling nodded gratefully, and Tobin continued. “Something must be wrong with the hotel. The Wifi isn’t working, and now the normal power seems to be slowly turning off everywhere. It’s probably just an electrical thing.”

“I wonder if other buildings are experiencing it.” Kling wondered aloud.

“It’s not like we can check anywhere else.” Ashlyn grumbled. “My phone won’t work. I need to get Ali.”

“I’ll come with.” Tobin volunteered. “I want to make sure Kelley’s not starting a riot.”

Kling and Alex hung back while Tobin and Ashlyn got ready to leave. Alex reminded them to try and find out what the problem was, and to pick up candles or flashlights if they could find them. Ashlyn shot her a thumbs up and nodded. “No problem, Ash and Toby are on the case.”

As they left the room, Tobin worked her best glare on Ashlyn. “Don’t call me Toby.”

Ashlyn just laughed. She shut the hotel door behind them and headed down the hallway towards Ali’s room. Ashlyn had the number memorized, but Tobin didn’t remember what Kelley’s room number was.

“Dude.” Tobin nudged Ashlyn as her phone vibrated. “My phone’s working again.”

“Power outage must be over.” Ashlyn hummed.

“She’s in the lobby. Kelley.” Tobin told Ashlyn. “You go ahead to Ali. I’m gonna figure out what caused this.”

“Does it matter?” Ashlyn asked.

Tobin shrugged. “Not really. But I’m curious.”

***

Tobin found Kelley arguing with the woman at the front desk. Kelley was waving her hands like a madwoman and cutting the woman off. Tobin jogged over and wrapped her hands around Kelley’s arms, tugging her back. “I apologize for whatever she’s doing.”

Both the woman and Kelley scoffed. Tobin tugged Kelley over to one of the leather sofas and pushed her down. “What were you fighting about?”

“She won’t tell me why I can’t leave the hotel. Apparently they’re going on a back-up generator, but that doesn’t explain our involuntary lockdown. Tobin, they’re keeping us here against our will.”

Tobin snorted. “And yelling at her was going to help?”

“Something has to be wrong. This is like, state-wide. All through California, power is going out.”

“Something probably got tangled up and they’ll figure it out.” Tobin assured Kelley. “Nothing bad is happening, Kel. And if something is, we’re safer here.”

Kelley frowned, the freckles on her forehead bunching together. As she was about to speak, hopefully to agree with Tobin, there was a scream from outside. The woman at the front desk immediately dropped behind the desk and Tobin instinctively pulled Kelley to the floor. Peeking around the couch, Tobin saw a middle-aged woman running down the street, only to trip and collapse to the sidewalk.

Tobin sprung into action, running towards the door. It was locked, and there was no obvious way for her to get through the heavy glass doors. So all Tobin could do was press her hands against the glass and watch as the woman got to her feet, kicked off her heels, and continued to run. Kelley came up behind Tobin. “What the f--”

A gray creature ran past the doors. It was hunched over, clothes torn. Its jaw was missing and brown blood oozed down the ripped white shirt. Tobin felt herself lurch like she was about to vomit. All the breath in Kelley’s lungs expelled in a sudden gasp.

“Kel, get back.” Tobin shoved Kelley backwards and they stumbled away from the glass. “Something bad is happening, Kelley.”

The woman at the front desk slowly got back up and watched as the gray-skinned beast sauntered around for a few seconds before emitting a nails-on-chalkboard wail and taking off again. Kelley glared at the lady. “You need to tell the patrons here about that. Explain why we’re locked in.”

The woman just nodded. Tobin laced her fingers together with Kelley, her blood cold and her knees shaking with fear. “We’ve gotta… We’ve gotta get the team together.”

“Yeah.” Kelley’s gaze landed on Tobin’s face. Both their expressions reflected pure fear. Kelley gave Tobin’s hand a gentle tug and the pair ran towards the stairs like they were sprinting for their lives.

“Kelley, what do you think that was?” Tobin asked as they took the stairs two at a time.

Kelley was silent for a full flight before finally choking out, “I don’t know. But… But it’s probably not good.”

Tobin couldn’t argue with that.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kind of a long chapter. Hope y'all enjoy!

Ali joined Ashlyn in Alex’s room. At some point, Lauren Holiday found herself in the room as well, just wanting to ask Tobin for a flashlight but ending up staying. Kling, Ashlyn and Alex played cards while Lauren tried to straighten her hair. Ali sat on a wooden chair near the window, quietly watching the sky.

“Ali, are you alright?” Ashlyn asked softly as the card game ended.

“Mhm. Just thinking.” Ali answered, sounding far off in her own mind.

“About what?” Kling asked.

“Just how, well, how weird this is. Has anyone tried their phone lately?”

Everyone checked their phones. The alerts were very few and most of them were unnerving. Saying to keep a watch out for riots and looters, as well as gangs and even an escaped criminal. But luckily, one of them said that the power grid would be back up and working within a few hours. Nothing to worry about.

The door shook with an aggressive knock. Lauren opened it up and in walked Tobin and Kelley looking pale and fearful, with a confused Moe following, a bag of potato chips in her hands. JJ filed in after the trio and Kelley motioned for everyone to collect together. She was quiet for a few beats as everyone watched her with curious eyes. “There’s a problem.”

“Besides the power being out?” Alex inquired.

To the best of their abilities, Tobin and Kelley explained what they’d seen to the group. They watched everyone’s faces go from slightly confused and curious to fear stricken and worried. Luckily, Tobin had a calming demeanor and managed to pipe down the hysterically nervous laughter of Kling and the frightened bag rustling of Moe.

Tobin cleared her voice. “We should collect the team together and wait for the police to arrive and settle whatever it is that’s going on. We’re bound to be safer in a group than apart.”

“I’ll text everyone.” Ali said above the quiet discussions going on. A few seconds later, everybody’s phones buzzed, confirming the mass text Ali issued. Christie Rampone answered their text with an invitation to the conference room in the basement, and very quickly 23 confirmation texts were sent and the group headed towards the staircase.

Alex nudged through the group and linked her arm with Tobin’s as they walked. “Was it scary?”

“The gray thing?” Tobin shrugged, not wanting to scare Alex further. “A little bit, but we’re safe in here, alright? You don’t need to worry.”

Alex didn’t say anything, she just pressed closer to Tobin. On Tobin’s other side, Kelley laced their fingers together again. It scared Tobin to the core to be a sort of rock for her trio, but she had no choice. Kelley and Alex needed her, and she needed to be there for them. Tobin squeezed Kelley’s hand and made sure she wouldn’t lose Alex, and braced herself for what was to come.

***

At one table, it was Kelley, Alex, Tobin, Ali and Ashlyn. The room was mostly silent, even though Christie had given a speech about sticking together and Jill Ellis tried to do some stand-up comedy, nothing could ease anyone’s nerves. Even the families there were silent, the children of the group remaining surprisingly quiet. It was like they knew the severity of the situation. The group from Alex’s room were the most uptight, knowing about the weird gray man.

Ashlyn draped an arm over Ali’s chair and an arm over Alex’s chair. She tried to look stoic and almost give a Hope Solo vibe, but she just looked antsy. Her eyes constantly darted around the room and her fingers drummed against Ali’s shoulder blade. Finally, Ali just grabbed the blonde’s hand and pulled it to her lap. “Please calm down, Ash.”

“I can’t. The thought of people being out there.” Ashlyn mumbled, staring at her hand being cradled by Ali’s. “I just wish I could be out there, helping or something.”

Everyone else at the table agreed. And even though the hotel was secure and safe, Kelley’s mind was going a mile a minute. Scenarios raced through her head about that gray creature breaking into the hotel. Was it a zombie? Kelley was going to think of it as a zombie.

Were there any weapons in her vicinity? Kelley guessed she could break one of the chairs and go Buffy The Vampire Slayer with the legs. Otherwise, she and her teammates were completely screwed in this impending apocalypse. Well, if there was ever a group to beat the apocalypse, Kelley would put her money on this one. Maybe with Dwayne Johnson and Chuck Norris thrown into the mix.

From across the room, Kelley’s eyes locked with Hope. Hope had this way of looking at someone that was so icy and scary, but Kelley knew her well enough to look past it. Hope was scared. Kelley wanted to cross the room and throw her arms around Hope’s neck, but she figured that Hope wouldn’t be about that. She was such a private person. Kelley tried to smile at Hope, and Hope very slightly nodded back.

Tobin tapped Kelley’s knee and offered her some kind of half-smile. “You doing good there?”

“I think so. I just want to sleep.” Kelley admitted, propping her elbows up on the table. Each minute seemed to take forever to tick by. Finally, HAO and Pinoe got up and started playing hangman with the group.

Everything still sucked, but it sucked a little less.

***

It quieted down after a few more hours. But it was only the quiet before the storm.

There was a loud commotion outside of the room. A crash followed by a scream, and then a primal growl. It sounded like something out of a Nat Geo documentary, not like something to be heard in the middle of a high-end hotel. Everyone shot to their feet, Abby raising her hand to demand silence. A pin dropping could be heard throughout the room as all hell broke loose outside.

Through the tiny, rectangle window on the side of the room, Tobin watched as a zombie slammed against the other side in an attempt to break in. Long, gnarled fingers scratched against the glass, leaving a trail of gook and brown sludge behind. It stumbled back, and Tobin got a good look and its teeth, bared and dripping with blood. It snarled again and resumed hitting the window.

Abby motioned to the back of the room and a small metal door there. When Christen opened it, it led out into a tiny hallway. She led the charge of women fleeing the carnage and banging against the window and door. Tobin and Ashlyn were the last to leave, but before they could get out, the glass of the window shattered and a zombie fell through. Even though the glass impaled its chest, the creature got up like it was nothing and charged.

Ashlyn grabbed a chair and swung it, cracking the zombie over the head. Blood and bits splattered everywhere. Tobin gagged. Ashlyn scrambled to grab remnants of the chair, shoving a leg into Tobin’s hand and keeping the other three in her own hands. They slammed the metal door behind them as two more undead found their way into the room, and took off after the group.

Ali nearly fainted when she saw the state of Ashlyn’s shirt. “Ash, you’ve got blood on you. Oh my God, Ash.”

“It’s not mine.” Ashlyn assured her, but it did nothing but make Ali’s eyes glisten with tears. Ashlyn kissed her forehead and urged her forward, further down the cramped hallway. “Keep moving! The door won’t hold forever!”

The spilled out onto the staircase a few moments later, and soldiered upwards. Ashlyn passed two of the chair legs forward to Abby and Hope, who had taken the lead on the group. It was hard whether to gauge if moving quickly or slowly was the best option, so they took a kind of half-speed job up. Ashlyn refused to loosen her grip on Ali’s shoulder and Tobin constantly glanced behind them.

They stopped short halfway up the stairs, and Tobin let out panicked breaths. The information was passed back quietly, like the most stressful game of telephone ever. “There are four zombies in the lobby. What do we do?”

“Four zombies, four people.” Ashlyn said quietly.

“Either way, we’re screwed.” Kelley whispered defeatedly as the sounds of growls echoed downstairs. They’d busted through the door.

“We’re not safe in this hotel.” Alex spoke up finally. “There’s too many glass windows and too many people capable of being infected. We need to get somewhere safe.”

“Which means getting outside.” Someone else added.

Tobin grabbed Ashlyn’s wrist and pulled her close. Her voice was urgent and laced with shaky fear, but also bravery. “Ash. Hang back here and make sure no zombies get up. I’m going to go up front with Abby and get rid of the zombies.”

“Be fast.” Ali said, giving Tobin a one-armed hug. Ashlyn shook Tobin’s hand like Tobin was going off to war. In a certain way, she was. Kelley rested a hand on Tobin’s back and tried not to look frightened.

“Keep Hope safe, Tobs.”

“It’ll be Hope keeping me safe, squirrel.” Tobin chuckled, ruffling Kelley’s hair. Walking like she was heading to a sacrificial altar, Tobin pushed her way through the crowd to Hope and Abby. She stared at the two older women and braced herself to fight. “Let’s get this over with, yeah?”

“After me.” Abby knelt down and slowly stalked towards the first zombie that was facing away from them while Hope tip-toed her way over to the zombie by the front desk. Tobin realized with a jolt that it was the woman she’d seen at the front desk before. Not allowing her emotions to best her, she thought about all her friends huddled in that hallway waiting. She padded towards the third zombie that stood awkwardly by the couch, one arm hanging in a strange position, obviously broken.

Tobin crouched down and watched for Abby to give some sort of signal to attack. It came in the form of Abby driving her weapon through the back of the zombie’s head. It couldn’t even get a growl out before it went completely limp. Tobin catapulted herself over the couch and jabbed her zombie in the neck. They crashed to the floor and Tobin began to blindly stab, catching its head a few times. Hope dispatched the last two liked a train assassin, not even stopping to blink at the gore left behind.

Slowly, the rest of the group filed in, carefully stepping around the blood pooling on the floor. Tobin wiped the blood off her hands onto the expensive couch and sat down on the arm, inhaling deep breaths and trying to concentrate her eyes anywhere except the dead zombie in front of her.

Alex entered the room and went to her immediately. “Are you alright?”

“I’m not dead.” Tobin answered.

“And thank God you aren’t.” Alex hummed, wrapping her arms around Tobin. Tobin just leaned into Alex and let her familiar scent overtake her.

Kelley bounced on the balls of her feet. Hope was just a few feet away rifling through the front desk to find anything of value. Kelley jogged over there and tried to make it look like she was looking too. “Hope, you, are you?”

“Am I okay?” Hope completed the sentence for Kelley. Kelley just swallowed thickly and nodded. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“Good.”

“Are you okay?” Hope asked, her hand finding the small of Kelley’s back. The touch instantly made Kelley feel safer, like Hope just being near her would solve all the turmoil going on. Kelley licked her lips and continued to look through the desk.

“Yeah, I mean, I don’t know.” Kelley shrugged. “I’m really scared.”

“It’s okay to be scared.” Hope said. “You just can’t let it take you over. You have to be brave in this situation.”

Kelley leaned into Hope, feeling her subconsciously lean back. “Can’t you just be brave for me?”

Hope glanced around quickly and then pressed a kiss to Kelley’s temple. “I’ll try my hardest.”

Kelley smiled sadly as Hope moved away from her to talk to Abby and Christie. The lobby in the hotel was small, and there wasn’t much in the way of weapons anywhere. The only thing the group could scrounge up was a lamp, and that still had a long cord which made it unreliable to fight with. JJ suggested going back up to their rooms for some much-needed resources, but it was a hard call to make.

“There might be zombies lurking around the hallways or the staircases.” Hope said. “We wouldn’t know how many, and if we got cornered on the stairs we’d be fucked.”

“If we can find a hardware store or something like that, we’ll be good.” Abby spoke up, rallying the troops together. “This is still a building problem, so if we can get the upper hand and get places before looters or other groups do, we might be able to find some supplies and find a safer place.”

“Just down the street there’s a car repair shop.” Chris, Christie’s husband, informed the group. “There would be tools there.”

“There’s a mall nearby with stores.” Moe added, but was immediately shot down due to the danger of it being such a crowded place. But Moe’s suggestion made Kling remember something about the mall, and she spoke up.

“There’s a bank on the far side of the mall, across the parking lot from any of the stores. It’s a long shot but if they’re open--”

“If they’re open, they’re probably on lockdown.” Pinoe said.

Christen suddenly got an idea. It was a long shot, since it’d been so many years. But since they were shooting down ideas left and right, she figured it wouldn’t hurt to contribute. “About an hour away from here, there’s a ranch up in the mountains. It’s kind of out in the woods a little. They’ve got big fences to keep the horses in and the wild animals out, and a bunch of space. It was a horse-back riding camp that I went to with my friends a couple of times. That was years ago, but how much can a place change in nine or ten years?”

“Even if it’s not still up and running.” Alex said in support of Christen. “We’ll be away from major cities and might be able to make it running again on our own.”

All eyes turned to Hope. It was like she was the unofficial leader of the group, and while she didn’t want to be, everyone trusted her to make the decision. She turned her head to look at Kelley, and when she was given a subtle nod from the freckled girl, she agreed. “I think it could work. We’re going to need cars.”

No one had their cars with them, as most had taken rent-a-cars or the team bus.

“The auto shop should have some cars.” Abby said. “And there’s a dealership across the river. We could split up to cover more ground. When we finish our mission, we can meet by the big office buildings at the outside of town.”

“You do know how to find the ranch, right Christen?” Ashlyn questioned.

The tanner girl nodded. “Definitely.”

“Let’s split into groups then.” Hope decided, and began to turn their plans into actions.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am such presston trash

Shannon, Christie, Amy, Carli, Lauren, and their families were sent to the office buildings to make sure it was a safe rendezvous point. They were also sent because three out of the five of them had children, and Hope didn’t want the kids having to try and find zombies at a car dealership.

Hope, Kelley, Ash, Ali and a few others were recruited into going to the car dealership. Hope made sure to hold Kelley’s hand as they prepared to leave the hotel. Outside, it was silent; nothing moved and there was no evidence that any zombies were in the area. However, all of Hope’s senses were on high alert. Her eyes constantly scanned around her, the muscles in her legs and arms bunched. 

“Come on, it’s not that far of a walk.” Hope said, but she was still nervous. They had an overwhelming lack of weapons. Two sticks wouldn’t be able to protect a group of nine from a horde of zombies.

“The door won’t open.” Dom, Sydney’s husband, grunted as he tried to pry open the double doors.

“They’re probably locked from before.” Tobin muttered. They were practically trapped inside of the hotel. Tobin could see some of the group members getting antsy, pacing and checking the door from which they came. Soon enough, the hotel would be a madhouse. Tobin wanted to get out before anything crazy happened. JJ, wielding the lamp, headed towards the glass doors with a defiant look on her face. She took the end of it, and slammed it into the glass as hard as she could. A crack split along the middle and with two more well-placed hits, the whole door shattered into tiny pieces. Hope stepped through and helped Kelley out.

“We’ll meet up with you later.” Abby said, resting her hand on Hope’s shoulder. With that, she collected her group of ten and marched down the street, packed tight with purposeful steps. Hope swallowed thickly as she watched them disappear around the corner, but steeled herself to address her group.

“We need to make this quick.” She said, rounding them up and leading them. “But we need to get good cars, good gas mileage and all that. Find a van to pack our stuff in, a couple fast cars, something sturdy.”

“And if there’s zombies?” Whitney Engen asked, her voice shaking.

“Hope and I have weapons. We’ll find something.” Ashlyn answered, putting a supportive arm around Whitney’s shoulders.

They managed their way down a few empty blocks, not stopping for anything. The city was silent and dead. Kelley thought that if they were in the midwest, a tumbleweed would roll past them. A plastic bag drifted by on the wind, and Kelley tried occupy her mind by remembering old Katy Perry lyrics.

“We should check in here.” Ali suggested, halting the group at a dollar store. “You’ll never know what we could find.”

“It wouldn’t hurt to stock up on bandages and snacks.” Sydney agreed, nodding her head. Hope held the door open for the group as they walked into the shop. It didn’t appear to be looted, and the sign hanging in the window said that it was closed on Wednesdays. Kelley hoped that meant that no angry shop owner would jump out from behind the counter and try to kill them.

They began to browse the aisles, taking whatever they thought they needed. There were a few backpacks hanging up with the Back to School supplies, so they each took one and began to fill it. Ali and Ashlyn went through the medicine aisles. Ali carefully read each label and debated what to bring while Ashlyn piled it all in.

“Ash, shouldn’t you only take what we need?”

“Who knows what we need?” Ashlyn shrugged, taking all the Aleve and pouring them in. “You’re telling me that you know for a fact that we’ll never need grape flavored cough medicine or burn relief?”

Ali frowned and did the same as Ashlyn, dumping in all the supplies. Ashlyn was right, anyway, she didn’t know what they would experience and what they did and didn’t need. It was better to take everything and be over prepared than underprepared.

“Ashlyn, are you alright?” Ali asked. It seemed like a common question to ask within the last hour.

“Honestly, no.” Ashlyn said, knowing that she couldn’t lie to Ali and pretend that everything was okay. Ali knew her too well. “But it’s not like we have a choice on how to act. I can’t sit down and cry, you know?”

“I know.” Ali hummed. She wrapped her arms around Ashlyn’s waist and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Just remember that I’m here, alright? You’re not alone in this.”

“Neither are you.” Ashlyn mumbled against Ali’s temple. “Come, let’s get some more stuff. Prepare Sharknado-style, yeah?”

Ali laughed. “Of course.”

***

Kelley managed to collect the weirdest things. While most of the group got food, hardware, just general supplies, Kelley got boomerangs. The pink plastic kind. She also got balloon weights, candles, coloring books, and washcloths.

“Kel, Dom found the kitchen section and got some knives.” Hope came up behind the shorter girl. “I want you to hold onto one, just in case.”

“Thanks.” Kelley gave Hope a quick kiss and continued stuffing soap into her backpack.

“What are you getting?” Hope asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Just the stuff I thought everyone would forget.” Kelley said with a shrug. “Stuff for the kids, soap and shampoo, a few boxes of candles.”

Hope half-smiled. “That’s good thinking.”

Kelley twirled the knife in her hand and nodded thoughtfully. It was hard to imagine her killing anything, and the knife felt weird to hold. It didn't feel right. The last thing she wanted to was fight, and to kill something... Kelley shivered. Part of her knew she couldn’t hide behind Hope forever and let her do all the dirty work. She couldn’t let Hope just be brave for her.

“Hope?”

“You need something?” Hope asked.

“Do you think I can do it? I can make it?” Kelley inquired. Hope paused for a second and pursed her lips. She had the utmost trust in Kelley. She was fast, strong, and thought on her feet. However, she wasn’t as good as concealing her emotions as Hope.

Hope reached out and brushed a stray strand of hair out of Kelley’s eyes. “I know you can, Kelley. You’re incredibly smart. You can work your way out of any situation. You’re an asset to this group.”

When Kelley said nothing, Hope continued. “I know this is hard, and it’s scary, but you can't second guess yourself. You have to act on instinct, Kelley.”

Kelley went on her tip-toes and kissed Hope slowly, not caring if someone came down the aisle and saw them. “Thank you so much. Just, promise me one more thing. Promise me you won’t leave me; you’ll stay by me through this.”

“Promise.” Hope whispered, giving Kelley a final kiss before lacing their fingers together. Hope rounded the troops as they collected the last of the supplies from the dollar store, and they continued to the car dealership.

Kelley felt ready for anything.

***

On one side of Tobin, she had Alex. Alex held a crowbar they’d found in a car a few hundred feet back. The car had crashed into a pole, and there was no evidence of the driver inside of the car. Unfortunately, the car was mostly empty.

On Tobin’s other side, she had Moe Brian. Moe held a section of concrete less than a foot long. It had chipped off the curb due to the accident, and Moe held it like she was holding her life in her hands. Up front, Pinoe had a tire iron that she continuously swung.

Tobin wanted to reach out and comfort both girls, tell them that everything was okay, but she couldn’t lie to them like that. Abby broke her out of her thoughts. “We’re here guys. Be careful, alright?”

Alex stiffened. “I think I’m going to vomit.”

“I think I’m going to pass out.” Morgan whimpered.

“Woman up.” Tobin mumbled, steeling herself.

There was a tiny parking lot with a few cars scattered, including a bright pink Camaro that made Tobin gag. Two garage doors were wide open, revealing a few cars inside among scattered tools and car parts. Luckily, there were no zombies in sight, but that didn’t easy anyone’s nerves.

Abby stood guard outside of the shop and Pinoe climbed onto a car jack in the middle of the room as a secondary lookout.

“How are we going to bring the supplies with us?” Kling asked, hoisting a dirty toolbelt around her waist. It must’ve been yellow years ago, but was stained with smudges of black, brown, and a one strange shade of green that Kling actively avoided touching.

“I have an idea.” JJ said, flanking Press as she jimmied a locked door. Through a window that connected the two rooms, JJ could see a set of keys hanging on the wall. It was their way out of the city, if only they could either get through the bulletproof glass or the metal door. “Does anyone have something to pry the door open with?”

“We’re in a mechanics shop. I got this.” Broon spoke up. It was the first time she’d said anything substantial throughout the trip. The group watched in stunned silence as she unscrewed the knob, removing it completely. She slid back the mechanism keeping the door locked and gave it a good push. The metal door swung open with a loud creak. making everyone stand on edge. HAO high-fived Broon.

“Good job, dudette. Where’d you learn that?”

“I read a lot.” Broon responded simply.

Christen and JJ entered the squat room together. It was filled with pictures and little collector’s items, including a katana hanging on the wall. Christen climbed onto the desk and removed it from the wall. Carefully, she positioned the sheath so that it hung through a belt loop of her green skinny jeans.

“You’re like a real life Michonne.” JJ commented as Christen unsheathed the blade. It was about two feet long with a slight curve and Japanese symbols from the hilt to the very tip. Christen swung it once and then sheathed it again.

“I’m going to have to learn to use it first.” Christen chuckled. “Come on, let’s try out some of the keys and get rolling.”

“Are you completely positively sure about that ranch?” JJ questioned nervously, wringing her hands together. It caused a pang deep in Christen’s gut to see JJ so unsure. Christen reached for JJ and awkwardly grabbed her hand.

“One hundred and fifty percent sure.” Christen said, her hand straying from JJ’s to touch the desk behind her. “There’s another sword here. Looks like this dude was a collector.”

“What kind of sword?” JJ asked, getting out of Christen’s way. Christen lifted the glass up and removed the case, taking out the weapon. It was like a machete, but thicker with more curve in the blade.

Christen shrugged. “Dunno. I’m not a sword expert.”

“I don’t know how to use a sword.” JJ said, taking the sword from Christen. She stared at it like she was holding an alien in her hands.

“Neither do I.” Christen said. “But you need to learn, because it’s vital now to know. I don’t want to worry you, JJ, but it’s the truth.”

“I don’t want it to be true.” JJ admitted, wiping the tears that were beginning to form in her eyes. Christen nodded slightly, fishing some duct tape out of the desk. She positioned the sheath against JJ’s side and wrapped a strip of duct tape around her waist, securing the weapon to JJ since she had on Aztec-print leggings.

“Same here.” Christen pocketed the duct tape into her hoodie. “Let’s make a pact. We’ll always stick by each other’s side, no matter what. So that we’ll always know we have someone to watch our back.”

JJ sniffled. “Deal.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if there's any ships you like that i haven't put in the story, or what you'd like to see happen, tell me in the comments


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kind of a boring short chapter, but anyways, happy reading!

Tobin loaded some of the tools into one of the cars in the parking lot. Besides the Camaro, there were four other cars that the group would have to load themselves into. Pinoe, Broon, and Abby were in a Mazda sedan, Christen and JJ got the Civic, HAO and Dave got an old pick-up truck, Moe and Kling got the Camaro, and Tobin and Alex got the Lexus convertible.

The trunks were stuffed with whatever the group could find: tires, rope, chains, tools, batteries. The place was very nearly cleaned out by the end, and felt a lot safer wielding a hammer rather than a stick. When they finally organized the cars, Abby took the lead, and Tobin sent up a silent prayer that all the cars worked well.

Not wanting the car to be silent, Tobin tried to make conversation. “Alex, did you see the sword JJ got?”

“Yeah.” Alex replied shortly.

“It’s this thing called a kukri. They’re originally from Nepal.” Tobin continued, trying to prompt a conversation out of the brunette.

“Cool.”

Tobin sighed, keeping her eyes on the road and her grip tight on the steering wheel. After a few seconds, Alex let out a breath. “I’m sorry, Tobs. I’m just so worried for my family and for Servando.”

Tobin nodded. Diamond Bar was an hour out of their way, and Tobin wasn’t about to hit the breaks and risk it all. “I don’t know what to say, because I know there’s nothing I can say that will make this go away or make it better. But, Servando is very strong and very smart, and your parents are too. Maybe you could try texting them, to let them know where we are, and where we’re going.”

“That’s a good idea, Tobin.” Alex typed out the message and even though it didn’t send right away, Alex was hopeful that it would go through at some point. “Maybe Serv can meet us there.”

“Maybe.”

“Tobin?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.” Alex paused. “I hope Kelley and that group is okay.”

“Kelley has Hope.” Tobin assured Alex. “She’ll be fine.”

Alex glanced over. Tobin was cool, calm, and collected. The only thing that revealed anything other than that was the way her knuckles were bone white as they gripped the steering wheel. Out of everyone to be in the middle of the apocalypse with, Alex was grateful she got Tobin. The girl was a rock, strong and steady. ‘Thank you’ didn’t seem to cover the gratitude Alex felt. From Tobin volunteering to fight the zombies in the lobby, to just being by her side in the last couple hours.

“If this whole ranch idea doesn’t work out, what do we do then?” Alex wondered out loud.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.” Tobin answered. It probably wasn’t the best idea, but they had a lot of hope for the ranch. At least Tobin did. She just had to keep praying and eventually things would work themselves out.

***

Abby’s group arrived at the offices around five, and Hope’s group arrived half an hour later. They had about 14 cars between them all when Hope’s group arrived, which was more than enough room for all of them. After they figured out seating and how to fit everyone together, Christen pulled the Civic in front and began to drive.

The drive was mostly highways and wide avenues, which proved a little bit difficult. Several dumb people had just decided to ditch their cars when the world went to hell, and it was hard to navigate fourteen cars around, including two large Passenger Vans and a cargo van. Sometimes, the group barely managed a few miles per hour through the big pile-ups.

Christen kept both hands on the wheel, driving slowly around the complicated messes of vehicles. They passed an overturned tractor trailer with several zombies surrounding it. JJ shivered when they passed a zombie chowing down a corpse. Christen didn’t even look.

“Where do you think the police are? Or the military?” JJ asked. It was hard to understand why police weren’t swarming like flies, or why the military weren’t setting up bases.

“Probably in the major cities.” Christen said. “Like LA or New York. LA is out of our way, so we’re probably not going to see any, anytime soon.”

“Is the ranch going to have enough room for us?”

Christen thought about it. “I think so. There’s two barns. They have a bunch of shacks around the property for the ranch hands to live in, too.”

“So there’s a lot of people there.”

“Yeah, a lot. I’m banking on luck that maybe they’ll be away.”

JJ just hummed to show she was listening. The idea of living in a barn with animals and horses was not the most ideal. And if there were other people, well, it wouldn’t be fun to reorganize a group of over thirty people and find a new location. And if they were allowed in, well, the group already had enough type-A personalities. They didn’t need more.

Christen took a safe stretch of road as a chance to look over at JJ. She was in her blue hoodie, leggings, and a pair of Nike running shoes. She didn’t look like a girl ready for the apocalypse, except for the slightly disheveled hair and the sword around her waist. Christen snapped back out of her moment and went back to concentrating on the road.

They turned down another avenue and onto the second highway. It was less crowded than the last, and Christen was banking on a straight shot there. The closer they got to the ranch, the more nervous Christen felt. She rested her hand on the divider in the car and tapped her fingers worriedly. JJ glanced at Christen and reached for her hand. “It’ll work out, Chris. Trust me.”

“This was a bad idea.” Christen whispered, blinking the tears out of her eyes. “Oh my God, we’re screwed, JJ.”

“We are not screwed, Christen. We’re gonna go there. There’s safety in numbers. If people are there, we join them. If zombies are there, we cut them down and take over. Whatever happens,” JJ stated, squeezing Christen’s hand, “we’re a team. And we’ll stick through this.”

“If it all works out, I can teach you to ride a horse.” Christen said, cracking a smile despite the tear rolling down her cheek.

“I hope they have chickens. Hope would have a field day.” JJ laughed and the sound made Christen feel warm inside. JJ gave her confidence. It was going to work out.

***

“How long has it been since you drove?” Morgan asked sarcastically as Kling weaved a little on the road before getting back her original path behind Hope and Kelley. Kling grumbled something about ‘stupid douche cars’ and went back to very stiffly steering. Maybe it won’t be the zombies that kill me.

“Moe. Give me a break.” Kling sighed, pushing her hair back out of her eyes. “Life highkey sucks right now. You can drive if you’d like.”

“No thank you.” Morgan answered. Her hands hadn’t stopped shaking since they entered the lobby of the hotel, and her stomach  was in knots. She just kept thinking that she was too young to die, way too young to die. And now she was in a hot pink Camaro with her best friend, blindly following her teammates to place that wasn’t even guaranteed safe.

“You think they’re really zombies? Like, legit Day Of The Dead meets The Walking Dead stuff?” Kling asked.

Morgan chewed at her lip. “I don’t know. Whatever they are, they’re not completely human. They… Ugh, I don’t know.”

“I didn’t mean to upset you.” Kling backtracked.

“You didn’t. I’m just processing.” Morgan said. “It’s been a long day.”

Morgan could feel herself tearing up. She didn’t want to process it. She wanted to disappear and cry. She wanted to sleep for a hundred years. Kling glanced over at her and then back at the road. Morgan sniffled. “I’m sorry, Kling. I’m really trying to keep it together.”

“You don’t have to defend yourself. I understand.” Kling tried to smile, but it came out looking a little pained and worried. “You should try to get some sleep before we get there.”

Morgan closed her eyes and leaned the seat back. She didn’t want to sleep, but the day was draining. She was exhausted, her limbs ached and the second she closed her eyes, she could feel herself falling asleep. Kling watched out of the corner of her eye as slowly, Morgan’s breathing evened out.

Kling made sure to drive extra carefully after that.

***

Ali drove while Ashlyn stared out the window. The had a cargo van, the back filled with all the supplies collected from the dollar store, the car dealership, and the repair shop. Every time Ali looked over at Ashlyn, she saw the dark blood splattered across her white t-shirt. It made her feel nauseous and made her look at Ashlyn differently. She didn’t want to, but the blood stains made her feel like Ashlyn was a killer.

And that thought made Ali feel guilty. So she kept her eyes firmly on the road and didn’t speak. Ashlyn didn’t seem to feel the need for conversation either. Her mind was in a completely different place. Ever since she killed the zombie, just cracked it over the head like it was instinct, she felt numb.

It wasn’t her who killed that zombie. It was some ghost of her, some mindless entity. After she killed the zombie, it was like her brain made up for the time it spent idling by kicking into overdrive. She was either over thinking or not thinking at all. Ashlyn worried which would end up being worse for her in the long run.

But was it really so bad that she could kill zombies? A strange part of her felt no remorse for it. It was like a predator with its prey. In the situation, she subconsciously chose to be the predator and to make the zombie her prey. Like a lion or a bear. It was in her nature, in her blood, to choose fight over flight. It didn’t make her a bad person, just the type to take action rather than sit back. She’d always been like that.

Ali felt her throat tighten when Ashlyn adjusted her seat and looked at her. Ali could see Ashlyn out of the corner of her eye; the same blonde hair and the same soft eyes. She was the same Ashlyn that Ali had spent years of her life with. But she couldn’t help it.

**Ashlyn Harris scared her.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the wait... I've been a bit busy in the past few days. But here is the next chapter (hopefully) for your enjoyment!

“This is it.” Christen said, pulling onto a narrow stretch of road. Huge trees lined either side, forest stretching for miles to the right and to the left. Her hands began to sweat with nerves and excitement. She looked behind her at the trail of cars following and her heart began to race, thundering out of her chest like a drum. So many things could go wrong, and it would take the grace of God and then some for the plan to go off without a hitch. Christen hoped that if it went to hell, everyone would make it out alive.

“Do you want to stop here so we can do some recon?” JJ asked. It was a solid idea, so Christen carefully pulled off to the side of the road and stopped. Abby, the next in line, pulled up next to her. She had on huge, orange shades; you would've thought she was heading to the beach rather than a horse ranch.

“We should scout ahead to make sure everything is alright.” Christen said, rolling down her window.

“Good idea.” Abby said, and JJ brightened a little at the praise of her idea. “How many do you think?”

“Four or five maybe.” Christen replied. “It’s really big but all the important stuff is right in view. I’ll go with Alex, Syd, Kelley… And maybe Kling?”

“She’ll be an asset.” Abby nodded approvingly, getting out of the car. She flipped her short hair a little bit. “I’ll round them up. You get yourself ready.”

Christen watched as Abby sauntered away with her hands resting on her hips. When she looked over to talk to JJ, the blonde’s eyes were filled with unshed tears. A pit immediately found its way into Christen’s stomach. Almost stuttering, she asked. “What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing.” JJ stammered, wiping her eyes. She giggled, her face flushing with embarrassment. “I’m just worried for you is all.”

“We made a promise to always have each other’s back.” Christen said thoughtfully. “You can come too, if it makes you feel better. Personally, I would rather not put you into that danger, but I trust you to have my back.”

“I want to come.” JJ stated, putting on a brave face. Christen smiled at her and got out of the car, leaning against the door. She had to steel herself, the possible outcomes running through her mind. Not many of them were good. JJ came around the car and offered Christen her hand. Christen felt electricity shoot through her palm, but since JJ looked unfazed, she ignored it. 

The two waited, their fingers lazily linked together as Abby returned with the scouting group. Kelley was paler than usual, her freckles more pronounced on her cheeks. Alex walked with purposeful steps, Syd was in the middle of braiding her hair, and Kling was brandishing a money wrench like some kind mid-fifties overweight mechanic would-- until she dropped it and almost broke her toe. They didn’t look anything like a badass zombie killing team. Christen began to panic, but JJ squeezed her hand in an attempt to calm her nerves.

“Alright guys,” Abby said, bringing them into a huddle. Her speech wasn’t as humorous as the ones she would give on the pitch. Rather, it sounded like she was sending them to a slaughterhouse. Her long arms pulled them all close. “This mission is vital to us surviving. You guys are going to make sure that place is safe and secure for us. If there are zombies, you guys are going to get rid of them. If there are people, you figure out how to deal with them. Make it quick, make it quiet, but most importantly, be thorough. We can’t have a stray zombie infecting us all. Good luck.”

Abby sent them off with a hard clap on Christen’s back. Christen coughed and cleared her throat, trying to collect herself. She took the lead, JJ stiffly walking next to her with the rest of the group filing in behind them. What if Christen got them all killed from this? She couldn’t live with that guilt.

Then again, she wouldn’t have to. She’d be dead.

They walked the couple hundred yards up to the front of the ranch. The main part of the ranch was surrounded by a tall stone wall to prevent animals from getting out or in. The wrought iron gate hung open, luckily not broken down, and a motorcycle was tipped over just inside. A sign of life... yet to be determined whether it was a good or bad thing

“What do we do?” Kling asked.

“Be very quiet. Stick close.” Christen jogged up to the wall and pressed herself flat against it. Carefully, she peered around the wall and looked inside. Two zombies wandered in the main courtyard. One had on what must’ve been a white polo shirt at one point. The other had a leather jacket on with a missing arm. “Two zombies.”

JJ looked around Christen and assessed the situation. “We can hide behind that enclosure and then attack from there.”

“I’ll go first. We don’t want to kick up noise.” Christen said. Without another word, she sprinted towards the pen. She slowed down as she got closer and lowered herself behind a small shed built into the pen. Inside, two goats casually chewed at hay. It either meant they were okay, or animals couldn’t get infected. Christen shivered; a zombified goat sounded scarier than a zombified person.

JJ was at her side a few seconds later, and the rest of the group made it with Syd taking up the rear. Christen took out her katana and nudged JJ gently. “Time to learn with that sword.”

Wielding their blades, the pair approached the zombies. Christen swung her katana like a baseball bat and cleared the zombie’s head off just below the eyes. It collapsed to the ground with a thump. The other zombie let out a shrill cry and JJ drove her kukri into its mouth. She had to kick her leg and propel herself off the corpse’s torso to remove the blade. The fight, although short lived, exhilarated her as well as made her feel sick.

“Holy shit.” She gasped, staring at the bloody blade.

“You could say that again.” Christen chuckled nervously. “Let’s hope that cry brought out the other zombies.”

The group looked around, but no other zombies approached.

“Good job, guys. That was some 28 Days Later stuff going on.” Kelley said, although the shakiness in her voice revealed some nerves.

“We should check the barns next.” Alex suggested.

They walked tightly packed together towards the first barn. The door was closed, but the lock hung open. Christen took one door and Alex took the other, and together they slid the doors open. They creaked as they opened, revealing a long hallway, dimly illuminated by what sunlight remained.

Horses stared at them with gentle eyes. Kling’s mouth dropped open. “Woah. They’re like, huge.”

“That’s because you're short.” Kelley said.

Christen knocked her fist against the door frame loudly, willing any zombies in the area to come to them. With Alex as their eyes on their backs, the group moved slowly up the long single hallway. There had to be at least twenty stalls with horses in almost every single one.

They reached the end, where it branched out into a saddle room on one side and a staircase on the other. They checked the saddle room first, filled with nothing but dirty saddles and a rack of leather bridles. It was looking promising that no one was in the area when the apocalypse hit.

Kling started up the stairs with her monkey wrench ready. Alex stood behind her, armed with the crowbar. Kling counted down silently. 3… 2… 1… With a big intake of breath, she turned the knob and shoved the door open. The door lead into an open staff room, complete with a dining table, a couch and a TV, and two small offices, as well as a bathroom.

Kling nearly fell backwards when the first thing she saw was a zombie. The muscles and veins in its neck were showing as the helmet it was wearing had fallen backwards, the strap slowly cutting through its neck. A bite mark festered on the creature’s arm. Kling swung the wrench and connected with the zombie’s jaw. Another swung hit the cheek, and teeth and blood flew from the mouth of the undead beast. Alex shoved Kling out of the way and finished the zombie off with a chop centered on the top of its head.

Another zombie stood nearby, trying to come near them but tethered by something. Christen walked closer and saw that it had electrical cords wrapped around its leg. She sighed. “It was trying to fix the TV and electrocuted itself.”

“And the other one tried to help.” Syd completed the thought. The humanization of the beasts wrecked them all to the core, and Christen apologized before she stabbed the zombie between the eyes.

“We should probably get them out of here, so that it doesn’t smell.” Kelley said. The prospect was gross, but JJ dragged one and Syd and Kelley got the other. Christen did a quick check of the bathroom and the offices before following the girls down.

They piled the zombies together and placed them with the others in the courtyard. Christen wiped the sweat off her forehead. “We have to clear out that barn and then the houses that the ranch hands lived in, not to mention the family house at the edge of the property. Kling, run back and get everyone else while we keep clearing it out.”

***

They dispersed another two zombies near the houses, but after that, they were finished. No more zombies were on their property.

The cars parked in the gravel lot, and Hope and Abby went about assigning rooms. Each of the ranch hands’ houses were tiny two bedroom homes with a single bathroom and a combined kitchen and living room. The main house on the property had three bedrooms, so Hope and Abby designated that for Christie, her kids, and her husband.

Abby took a large workshed that she could convert into her own room. The fact that she didn’t have her wife, Sarah Huffman, seemed to be taking a toll on her. But she was naturally a quiet, private person and kept her emotions in check. Shannon, her husband Aaron, and their daughter Zoe got the first house. A-Rod, her husband Adam, and their son Ryan got the second house. Lauren and Jrue got the third, Carli and Brian got the fourth, HAO and Dave got the fifth, and Syd and Dom got the sixth. After that, it was kind of like drawing straws for the final houses. Lori and Whit got the seventh house, Alyssa and Broon got the eighth, Hope and Kelley got the ninth, and Christen and JJ got the final house.

Pinoe, Ali, and Ash took the smaller lobby built on top of the second barn. Moe, Kling, Tobin and Alex took the larger lobby.

Without much more said between them, they all settled in their respective rooms. When Alex and Tobin got into the lobby, they picked the first office to sleep in. Tobin helped make a bed out of some clean saddle blankets and a couple stray pillows. She was finally starting to come down off her nerves. It had scared her to hysterics so bad Whit thought she was dying when Alex went on the scouting mission. The thought of losing her made Tobin want to throw up.

“Are you tired?” Alex asked as she sat down. She’d abandoned her black jeans and her gray polka dot sweater. “I figured if I took it off, it’d stay cleaner. Plus I can’t sleep in jeans.”

“Neither can I.” Tobin said, tugging her light blue boyfriend jeans off. She passed them to Alex, carefully staring at a random point beyond Alex's head. The brunette folded them and placed them on the desk in the office. Tobin contemplated for a few moments before pulling her Hogwarts t-shirt off as well. She saw a little shift in Alex's gaze, but the woman simply did the same thing to the shirt. 

They settled into the bed they were going to share. It wasn’t as much as a bed as just some kind of makeshift cushion. Alex pulled the blanket over them. “I’ve never been this exhausted in my entire life.”

“Well let’s get to sleep. Tomorrow Hope is probably going to drill us.”

“Rightfully so.” Alex hummed.

“We’ve got to make this place feel like home.”

“Goodnight, Tobin.” Alex said, rolling onto her side. Tobin stayed lying on her back, staring at the ceiling until she fell asleep.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'll post it while the game is rain delayed... #HAO2kforever  
> Anyways, enjoy!

Hope was the first up in the morning. She left Kelley in the bed to get more rest, and patrolled the entire border of the stone wall. While Hope walked, she marked all the things that needed to get done. More beds for the girls in the lobbies. Food, and lots of it. Generators. Building supplies. Legitimate weapons. Like guns and spears and more of those swords that Christen and JJ had. Steak knives and frying pans wouldn't cut it forever. 

They would need wood to fix the gate so that it didn’t have openings large enough for people to slip through. Maybe find something to string along the top of the wall just in case invaders of the still-alive variety tried to invade, like barbed wire. Gardening supplies wouldn’t hurt either; seeds or already growing plants. They had goats and cattle for milk and chickens for eggs, but those types of things wouldn’t keep a population of 30-plus well-fed.

Hope found Abby sweeping the shed that would be her home. It had a workbench full of random items and power tools tools hanging from the walls. A nasty looking chainsaw hung from the wall, flanked by a shovel and several sets of pliers. Abby had a sort of bed frame out of several milk cartons and sturdy pieces of pale wood. It didn’t look half-bad, if Hope was being honest.

“Hey.” Hope knocked on the open door before walking in.

“Oh. Hi.” Abby welcomed her in and hung the broom up on its hook. She flicked the sweat our of her hair and settled down on her bed. She was tall and the bed was low; her knees nearly tucked to her chest. “Sorry. I was just trying to neaten the place up.”

“Don’t worry. So, uh, I thought I would talk to you about what we should do today. We can occupy the kids by making them take care of the horses and get some of the girls on that too. I want to send a patrol up the road to see what’s there at some point.”

“We need to send a small group back into the city.” Abby said. “If we can beat the rush for supplies, we might be able to find some useful things. Christen knows the roads best, so I think I’m going to talk to her about it.”

“We’re going to need gasoline too.” Hope said. She liked talking to Abby. They kept it strictly business. There was no talk of emotions or feelings or how each other was. It was straight to the point, concerning only what they needed to survive. “For the cars. Not to mention clean clothes, a way to get pure drinking water, cleaning supplies. It would be good to have a method of communication too.”

Abby nodded. “If you can find a map too, that would be wonderful. Wait until the girls wake up on their own terms. They need sleep.”

“I’ll write down some possible locations we could go to.” Hope said, dismissing herself. “I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah.”

Hope walked out the door with a semblance of a plan in her head.

***

“There’s a camping store an hour away.” Christen said when Hope showed them her plans. “I’m pretty sure it sells everything.”

“Yeah, Tobin and I got a tent from there when we went camping once.” Kelley said. Tobin winced, the thought of the trip and the 20-plus bug bites that came with it making her skin crawl. “I know where it is.”

“There’s also a pawn shop, if I remember correctly.” Hope said. “So we’ll be sending two teams of five down that way. Any volunteers?”

Christen glanced over at JJ, and the pair raised their hands in sync. Kelley’s hand shot up as well, to Hope’s dismay. They also got volunteers in Syd, Dom, Moe, Kling, Tobin, and Ashlyn. That was enough people with Hope offering to go as well. She wasn't about to let Kelley go alone.

Ali left the room before Ashlyn could talk to her. The thought that she would be out there killing more of those things made her feel sick. It made Ali feel terrible to disappear on Ashlyn, especially in a time where everyone needed each other, but she was needed elsewhere. Preferably helping feed the horses or work on the huge garden behind the main house.

***

Tobin walked back up to the lobby to collect her backpack for the run she was making. While she was planning on helping collect the supplies the group needed, she also had an ulterior motive. Which included stealing one of the group’s cars, detouring about an hour out of the way, and picking up Alex’s family from their home in Diamond Bar.

It was dangerous, and Tobin would probably get lynched upon return for it. However, she didn’t care.

Alex had been a part of Tobin’s life for so long, she couldn’t imagine existing without Alex existing as well. Years upon years of friendship and being teammates had built them into something that Tobin didn’t completely understand herself. Tobin knew that they were best friend, the bestest of best friends, really. Throughout injuries and hardships, it only strengthened the bond the two girls shared.

Alex was married. To Servando. When Alex got married, Tobin was so happy. The smile on Alex’s face made Tobin believe that angels truly existed. It made her feel the same happiness. That was the moment that she realized that she lived for Alex, for everything Alex wanted, Tobin wanted to help her attain. Did that mean she was in love with Alex?

Tobin wasn’t sure.

“Oh. Hey.” Alex looked from where she was taking inventory of their supplies with Boxxy. The second office room in the second lobby, the largest of the offices, was already their designated food room. While the saddle room and bridle room were candidates, Hope brought up concern about rodents.

So, they had the biggest room they could find dedicated to the snacks and candies they’d managed to wrangle up. Alex and Shannon figured it wouldn’t hurt to figure out a rationing plan, but rationing potato chips, bottles of seltzer, and about forty boxes of frosted flakes was hard. None of it was healthy, and Alex had a feeling once all the athletes saw their food, they would revolt.

“I needed to pick up my backpack. We’re going on a run.” Tobin informed the girls. Alex’s eyes widened.

“Where?”

“About an hour off.” Tobin said, collecting her backpack. Alex watched her from across the room worriedly.

“Oh. Back in the city?”

“Back in the city.” Tobin slung the backpack over her shoulder. Shannon handed her a water bottle and a bulk pack of pretzels. Tobin shoved them into her backpack and smiled gratefully. “Thanks, Boxxy.”

“How long will you be gone?” Alex asked.

Tobin shrugged. “A little while. Why?”

“Be careful.” Alex said, reaching for Tobin’s hand. She pulled Tobin into a hug, burying her face into Tobin’s neck. Tobin wrapped her arms around Alex’s waist and held her for a moment, taking in the scent of Alex’s hair and how amazing it felt to be close to her.

“I always am.” Tobin replied, holding Alex out at arm’s length. “Stay safe while I’m gone, alright?”

Alex nodded. “Until later, then.”

“Until later.” Tobin said. Alex leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Tobin’s forehead, and then Tobin was gone out of the room.

***

Tobin managed to score having a car of her own. She stuffed her backpack into the passenger seat of white four-door and kept her knife in her lap. Kelley and Hope took the cargo truck, Kling and Moe got in their Camaro with JJ and Christen, and Syd, Dom, and Ashlyn took one of the vans.

The Camaro, being driven by Christen, was loud. Kling kept making dirty jokes to keep the group entertained, and occasionally JJ would do a drum solo against the dashboard with some pens in the car.

It didn’t feel like they were going on a mission in what could be considered dangerous territory. It felt more like like a road trip between four friends. Just cruising down the highway, the sun high overhead, reflecting a pale light onto everything around them. Which just happened to include a bakery with the front window shattered, a path of bloody footprints down the sidewalk, and a trashcan with what appeared to be bullet holes riddling it.

The laughter died down and JJ instinctively reached for Christen’s hand. “A lot’s changed in a few hours.”

“Night is when all the gangs come out. They probably went Purge on this place.” Kling said. “Let’s get this over with as quickly as possible.”

“You think they’d try to rob us?” Moe asked.

“We’re a car full of girls without any real weapons.” JJ said, looking at her through the rearview mirror. “I’d consider it a blessing if they just robbed us.”

Moe sat a little closer to Kling after that. Kling patted the monkey wrench lying next to her and gave Moe an overconfident grin. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect all of us.”

“I hope they didn’t clear everything out of the camping store.” Christen said nervously. She let go of the wheel with one hand so she could hold onto JJ’s hand. The younger girl was quickly becoming something along the lines of a lifeline to Christen. Her presence was calming.

Christen turned her car to follow Hope and Kelley. They stopped in a parking lot with no other cars in, just a huge blue dumpster and a stray cardboard box. Dom pulled in right after, but Tobin kept driving. Their reaction to it was delayed, Tobin not slowing down to pull into the lot after Dom, and then her continuing to speed down the avenue. Her tires screeched loudly as she rounded a turn.

It hit Kelley hard, like an out of control freight train. She practically kicked the car door open and fell forward, stumbling. Then she was running, trying desperately to reach the car that had already disappeared. All the breath had been forced out of her lungs and it hurt, but she kept running, scrambling. Syd got out and sprinted after her, catching her at the end of the block.

Syd covered Kelley’s mouth to prevent her from screaming and alerting everything in a mile radius.

“She’s leaving!” Kelley shouted, spitting into Syd’s palm.

“I know.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.” Syd tugged Kelley up and turned her around, so she couldn’t stare at the path that her best friend had left on. Abandoning the group. Syd shook her head and kept her hand firmly over Kelley’s mouth as they walked back to the group.

It happened so fast. Moe wanted to say. But suddenly she couldn’t find her voice. Tobin leaving them. She wasn’t a coward like that, she wasn’t disloyal either. She loved Kelley, she loved Lauren and A-Rod. She loved Alex. Tobin loved all of them. It wasn’t like her to just disappear, to just…. run.

Hope wrapped her arms around Kelley, and the shorter girl seemed to disappear in the embrace. Hope’s face revealed complete disbelief. She stammered over her words as she addressed the group. “We still… We still have a mission. We should go.”

“Come on.” Kling tugged at Moe’s wrist.

“It happened so fast.” Moe finally said, finding her voice. “Why would she do that?”

“There’s no reason.” Syd whispered, pushing them both towards the store. “Let’s do this. I don’t want to stay here.”

“We still have the pawn shop to go to.” Ashlyn said, breaking her silence that plagued from the second they’d left the ranch. She’d gone into her mindless mode, her numb, quiet, inside-herself attitude. Seeing Tobin run broke her out of that, brought her back to the surface. “Who should handle that?”

“Us three.” Dom said. “Come on, we can handle it.”

Syd backed away from Moe and Kling and nodded slightly at them. “Hope, you’ll be good?”

“I-- sure. You?”

There was something infinitely more scary about seeing Hope rattled. Syd nodded. “We’ll be good. See you at the ranch.”

The phrase ‘good luck’ was tossed around a few times before Syd, Dom, and Ashlyn got back into their truck and drove off. The remaining group collected themselves slowly. Kling refused to believe that Tobin was leaving. It wasn’t like Tobin to do that. She refused to believe Tobin could do something like that.

Tobin would be back.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so, so much for all the comments. They honestly make my day!  
> Here's Chapter 7 (sorry for the shortness), I hope you enjoy it!

The store was huge. It had nearly everything the group could ever want. From MREs to tactical gear to knives and tools. It was obvious that some stuff had been taken, but mostly stuff at the front, like whoever broke in was in a hurry. Hope, with her grip on Kelley still tight, began to bark out orders. “Get food and weapons first. Pack as many clothes as possible. Find something to purify water with.”

Christen grabbed one of the tactical backpacks lined on the wall and headed towards the small shelf with ‘Purifiers’ in bold letters at the top. She began to load them in, trying to ignore the extremely high prices. Some of the stuff was over two hundred bucks, but Christen made a promise in her head that once the whole apocalypse was over, she’d go back and pay whoever owned the store.

JJ walked up behind Christen. She dropped some bandages and other tiny supplies into the backpack and leaned against the shelf. “It would be smart to clean this place out. From top to bottom.”

“I think that’s our plan.” Christen put her arm on the counter and slid everything on it into the huge backpack. She turned to JJ and knitted her brows. “I think you should change while we’re here. Into some of that military clothing. As a safety precaution, obviously.”

“You should too.”

They headed into the back and rifled through the clothing. Right in front of Christen, JJ tugged off her hoodie and slipped her leggings off. In an effort to be polite, Christen turned her eyes and avoided looking at JJ, but something caught her eye. Right behind Moe, who was casually looking through the counter by the cash register, a man lurked. Just in the doorway, obscured by shadows, but he was there. Christen could just hardly see the glint of his eyes. 

Christen felt a pit grow in her stomach, butterflies exploding like a bomb. She drew her katana and sprinted towards Moe. “Moe! Behind you!”

Moe turned as the man raised his hand. He pistol-whipped her across the face, the metal cracking as it collided with her jaw. Everyone in the store looked up. Hope shoved Kelley behind a display and charged the man with her hammer ready. Kling raised her backpack in front of her like a shield and fell backwards with a yelp.

Hope propelled herself over the counter. She knocked the pistol out of the man’s hand and threw him to the ground. Hope had about two inches on the frail, bearded man, and she wasted no time in nailing him with punches. Moe, meanwhile, crawled away and grabbed the pistol to keep it out of his hands.

Hope picked the unconscious man up and slammed him against the counter. “Who the fuck are you?”

“You’re in my store, who the fuck are you?” The man grumbled back once he regained his consciousness. Christen helped Moe to her feet, katana stretched outward at the man while Hope held him by the collar of his jacket. JJ stumbled towards the group a second later, navy blue cargo pants low on her hips and a green three-button shirt on. Her eyes were wide like saucers and she fumbled to unsheathe her blade.

“We’re people trying to survive.” Hope answered through gritted teeth. “Someone please get Moe to stop bleeding?”

Kling opened a medkit and began to clean the scrape along Moe’s cheek. Thankfully, it wasn’t deep and didn’t require stitches. The man scoffed. “So am I.”

Christen nudged JJ’s ribs. “Get Kelley and start to get the supplies out of here, alright?”

JJ nodded and stepped back. She found Kelley watching in shock from a distance. They collected some of the full backpacks and JJ ushered the freckled girl out the door. She kept a watchful eye on the man and Hope the entire time, just in case something happened.

“I don’t know who you think you are.” The man said to Hope. “But this is my store, and these are my supplies.”

As Hope was about to reply, probably with a snarky comment along the lines 'I'm Hope freaking Solo', Christen saw the man reach in his pocket. He drew a blade, long and serrated. She acted just as he did. As he drove the blade into Hope’s thigh and kicked her back, Christen struck forward with her katana. It entered his side at an angle, cutting through his shirt, the tip coming out of his chest.

Hope groaned and stumbled back, clutching the wound. The man let out a shuddered scream as Christen pulled her katana back out. The silver blade was slick with crimson blood. Blood pulsed from the wounds on the man, and he fell sideways. Hope stumbled towards Christen, her teeth gritted in pain. “Get the last of what we need. I’ll be in the car.”

Kling got Hope’s arm around her shoulder and helped her towards the cars. Christen sheathed her blade and touched Moe’s arm. “You heard her. Let’s get what we need.”

“Are you alright?” Moe asked as they cleared the store. They quite literally took everything out, from the empty ammo cans to oil cans and tarps. They hardly fit all of the supplies into their trucks.

“I’m good. How are you?”

“My face hurts.”

“I can imagine. Come on; I wanna go home.”

***

JJ drove.

Christen sat in the passenger seat, her arms wrapped around herself. Since the cargo truck only had two seats and no one trusted Kelley or Hope to drive in their conditions, Kling was in the cargo with Hope and Kelley was with Moe in the backseat of the Camaro.

“I’m… I’m sorry guys.” Kelley said halfway through the drive. Her voice was hoarse, but she wasn’t crying anymore. She talked slowly, taking a deep breath every few seconds. “I didn’t react well to Tobin, well, abandoning us. But, I understand now that I can’t shut down. Moe, you could have gotten seriously. And the same goes for Hope. I’m better. I will be better.”

“It’s okay, Kelley. Tobin shocked us all.” JJ said supportively, reaching her hand back to rub Kelley’s knee. “We don’t blame you for acting how you acted, and you couldn’t have changed how things went.”

“Yeah, like, don’t let it eat at you.” Moe said, wrapping her arm around Kelley’s shoulders. “We’re all okay now. We’ll be okay.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i wanted to ask... I've been writing a Roadtrip AU with Morgan and Kling-- would any of you read it?  
> And again, thanks for reading my story!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the late night chapter, I was at the Sky Blue game!  
> Hope you enjoy the chapter

Tobin was about fifteen minutes away from Diamond Bar when she finally stopped crying. She’d seen Kelley at the corner, on her knees and desperate as Tobin simply abandoned them. But it wasn’t like she could’ve stopped and explained her plan. They would have stopped her. This was something she had to do alone.

However, that didn’t stop her from crying. In hindsight, she felt like an idiot for not at least telling Kelley. Kelley could be a lot of things, sarcastic, childish, sometimes downright obnoxious, but the freckled girl was loyal to a fault. She could keep secrets like no one else Tobin ever knew. She was trustworthy. Which made Tobin think... Would they trust her once she got back? What if they didn’t let her back in? Tobin couldn’t exactly blame them for that.

She pulled onto the street that Alex’s family lived on. It appeared empty. There were no cars in the driveways or parked on the streets. A fire hydrant had burst at some point and water slowly dripped out of it. Otherwise, it appeared eerily normal. There wasn’t anything to hint at the fact that there was an apocalypse going on.

Tobin had been to Alex’s parents’ house many times in the past. Countless nights were spent sitting in Alex’s old bedroom, playing Uno and listening to pop music until they couldn’t keep their eyes open. Sitting out on the back patio while Tobin told Alex stories about all the stars. Like the night they’d made up their own constellations and weaved intricate stories between them.

Alex’s mom made a mean beef stew, and her father could grill like no other.

Tobin wiped her eyes for a final time and checked herself in the car's rear view mirror. Her eyes were a little less red and she looked less like she was on death’s door. If Alex’s parents weren’t there, the trip would all be a waste. She would return to the camp without a true excuse to leaving. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how Alex would feel if that happened, knowingly losing her parents, losing Tobin.

Tobin scratched her nose and pressed the heel of her palm to her forehead. Alex… Thinking about her made Tobin feel dizzy. It wasn’t fair. Alex was everything to Tobin, her beautiful best friend, her sarcastic sidekick, the other half of an inseparable duo that had been around forever. Tobin felt like her life hadn’t truly started until she met Alex. Maybe the whole 'in love' thing wasn't an abstract concept.

Tobin drove the last hundred yards to Alex’s home. Not a car in the driveway, nothing showed that life was still inside of the house. Tobin’s stomach dropped. But she couldn’t lose hope. Carefully, she got out of her car and approached the front door, her knees shaking and her hands sweating.

It took a moment for her to work up the courage to knock. She knocked once, waited a few seconds, and then rapped a few more times. She didn’t hear anything on the other side of the door. All the hope, all the promise she’d been building up was slowly disappearing. The voice in her head called her an idiot again and again.

Just as Tobin was about to walk away, her heart broken, the door swung open and a pair of hedge shears were aimed at her throat. Tobin couldn’t contain the scream that bubbled in her throat as she fell backwards, the metal blades narrowly missing her shoulder.

“Tobin?” Alex’s dad stared at her in blatant surprise, the shears hanging from his hand.

“That’s me.” Tobin groaned, rubbing her back where it hit the ground.

“I am so sorry. Get in here.” He grabbed Tobin by the front of her shirt and tugged her inside. “It’s getting late. The gangs come out at night.”

“Are you alright?” Tobin asked. “Is Mrs. Morgan here too?”

“I’ve told you to call me Pam, Tobin.” A woman’s voice sounded from the living room. Pam walked out and wrapped Tobin in a tight hug. She tried to hide the shock she felt about Tobin showing up at their house, but didn’t do very well. Her voice shook. “What are you doing here?”

“We went to a ranch when… when everything hit.” Tobin explained. “Alex is there. The team is there. I came here to get you guys, just in case you needed help.”

“We can’t leave now.” Mike said. “But you should put your car in our garage. We left ours out and paid the price.”

“They stole it. The gangs.” Pam continued, a shadow crossing her face. Tobin frowned and crossed her arms. So gangs were out and about now, too. No doubt forming in big numbers. Did the team count as a gang yet? No; gangs were bad. They were good guys.

Tobin went outside and pulled her car into the garage. When she came back inside, she was offered some cold poptarts and a beer.

“Might as well settle in.” Mike said darkly. “It’s gonna be a long night.”

***

Hope’s group returned an hour after Syd’s. The light was almost completely gone and everything was covered in a slight haze. The sky was a brilliant shade of light orange, but no one noticed the beautiful sunset.

Kling tugged Hope out of the truck and supported her around her waist. They’d wrapped gauze around the wound, but the gauze was no longer white. It was almost completely red with blood, and the color had gone from Hope’s face. Kelley almost fainted when she saw the older woman hobbling down the path. She rushed over and helped Kling support the goalkeeper’s weight. “Hope, are you okay?”

It was a dumb question. Hope was obviously far from okay. But Kelley wasn’t sure how to process it. Hope pressed a kiss to Kelley’s temple. She slurred her words a little as a result from her dizziness. “I’ll be fine, Kels.”

Christie, who was sitting on the porch of her house, leapt into action. “Rylie, help the girls with getting the supplies. Kelley, Kling, up here now!”

Kling and Kelley half-carried, half-dragged Hope up the steps. Christie pushed open the door and waved to her husband. “Throw a sheet over the pool table, Chris. Girls, into the basement, come on.”

Morgan followed them inside, a bundle of medkits and gauze in her arms. Christie’s husband tossed a yellow, paint-stained tarp over the pool table. The whole downstairs was a man cave, with football jerseys on the walls, a mini-fridge in the corner, and a giant couch in the corner next to a huge television.

Kelley helped lift Hope onto the table and laid her down. Christie let out a shaky breath. “She’s lost a lot of blood.”

“Here!” JJ ran in with a huge medical bag, a book in her hand. “First aid book.”

“Start…” Hope gritted her teeth together and groaned. “unpack the food before you forget.”

“Hope, relax, they’ve got it.” Kelley whispered, carefully smoothing back the woman’s hair. JJ grabbed Moe’s arm and tugged the girl out of the room so that they could unpack the other supplies.

Christie leafed through the book and closed it. “Okay. Kelley, scissors please.”

It was like a drama on TV. Christie demanded things-- scissors, water, butterfly bandages-- until the wound was finally closed and didn’t look too bad. However, Hope had lost a considerable amount of blood on their journey back, and now she was sleeping soundly. Kelley kissed Hope’s forehead and looked up. “Thank you, Christie.”

“Call me Dr. Rampone.” Christie joked. “I’ll start organizing these and packing them in here. Are you okay, Kelly?”

“Well, I’m not stabbed or shot.” Kelley shrugged. “So yeah, I’m alright. Hope’s alright and I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Kelley tried to smile, but she couldn’t even manage a semblance of it. Tears prickled her vision. “Christie… Tobin left. She took a car and drove off. I don’t know how to tell the team-- how will I tell Alex, or Lauren or Amy? It’s going to destroy them.”

Christie shook her head. “I don’t know what to tell you, because you’re right. They are going to be very, very upset. And knowing she willingly left us will be like salt in the wound. But you can’t not tell them and just hope it will go away. Just rip the bandaid off, Kelley.”

“It’s not fair.” Kelley whispered brokenly.

Christie watched the younger girl practically unravel before her eyes. Christie ruffled her hair and pulled her close for a quick hug. “Why don’t you organize everything? Start putting everything away where it’s easily accessible and such. I’ll go talk to Abby.”

Any other day, Kelley would be bothered by the motherly voice Christie was using. It often came about when someone was injured on the field or got upset during practice. Kelley didn’t like it at all, because it made her feel like a kid all over again. But she found it comforting now. Kelley nodded. “I’ll do my best. See you later, Dr. Rampone.”

Kelley cracked a small smile and Christie laughed. “See you later, Kelley.”

***

Night fell over the compound. No one met for dinner and no one really spoke. Abby made the announcement that Tobin made the decision to leave, and after that, no one felt much like talking. Alex locked herself away in the room she shared with Tobin and silently cried.

In the other room, Moe held a cold can to her face while Kling sat on the desk, playing with a yo-yo. The silence was stifling. Moe could feel Kling’s eyes on her every so often, and the fact that she would stare and not speak was unnerving. Moe finally turned to look at the same time Kling’s eyes shot up. “Well?”

“Well what?”

“Well, why are you staring at me? I don’t have three heads.” Moe frowned and Kling couldn’t even look the girl in the eye. The younger’s girl voice softened and she continued. “I’m sorry. It’s just today was wild and… and they’re probably going to get wilder. It’s just weird to not hear you talk.”

“I feel like an ass.”  Kling muttered, her eyes still watching the yo-yo go up and down.

“Why?”

“‘Cause I was right there, rambling like an idiot.” Kling slammed the yo-yo down on the table and almost shouted, but stopped herself at the last second. “And I-- and I didn’t notice that, that asshole, coming up behind you. He could’ve shot you, Moe!”

Moe opened her mouth to object to Kling’s statements, but the girl continued. “And then when I saw him, I panicked. I just dropped. Literally, I fell on my ass and tried to get away. And now you’re holding a can of cold corn to your face.”

“It could’ve been worse.”

“That’s not the point.” Kling scoffed. "Some black belt I am."

“Well,” Moe began. “If what you’re looking for is forgiveness, I forgive you. What you did… Well first off, there was no way you could’ve know that guy was there, and we’re not prepared for this whole apocalypse thing. We’re learning as we go. And I’m still alive, Kling. I’m not dead, I’m not mortally wounded. I’m alive. You were preserving yourself by trying to run.”

“What if it had just been us?” Kling whispered, her eyes terrified.

Moe shrugged. “Then chances are something worse would have happened to me, but you would be okay. And I would be okay with that.”

Moe got up and sat on the desk next to Kling. She put her arm around the shorter girl and pulled her close. “Let’s just forget it, Kling. I’m okay, and you’re okay, and Hope will be okay.”

“Is that your mantra?” Kling asked. “We’ll be okay?”

“It seems to be working.” Moe hummed. “It’s true. We’ll be okay.”

_When Moe says it, it sounds almost attainable,_ Kling thought. _Almost._

***

JJ cuddled up to Christen the second they got into the house. Truthfully, JJ not only didn’t feel like being alone, but was worried about Christen being alone. She hadn’t lost the ghostly expression throughout the entire car ride, and JJ was seriously concerned for her. They climbed into bed without changing and JJ did the only thing she could think to do-- hold Christen close and attempt to hold together the pieces that Christen seemed to be losing.

JJ managed to fall asleep. But Christen couldn’t. She stared at the hands that held JJ’s around her waist.

_Those hands killed a man._

_Those hands ended a life._

_I killed a man._

**I ended a life.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if any of you wanna follow me on tumblr and send me asks or prompts or what have you, that'd be amazing  
> I'm tobingriffin.tumblr.com


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fear The Walking Dead is on tonight and I literally cannot contain my emotions.   
> Here's Chapter 9, hope y'all enjoy!

Tobin woke up and momentarily forgot where she was. She opened her eyes and the high, pale ceilings sent a calmness through her. She was just sleeping over at Alex’s house. With a jolt, she remembered everything, and why she was at Alex’s house. _Alex_.

She pushed herself off the couch and padded across the house. Pam had left out new clothes for Tobin to change into. They were Alex's old clothes, a Berkeley hoodie and a pair of leggings. The hoodie smelled like Alex, and Tobin wrapped her arms around herself to try and keep Alex close. Because of the lack of electricity, Tobin had to settle for more pop-tarts and the last of some grossly warm potato salad. She sat tiredly at the counter, spooning the salad around while waiting for Mike and Pam to wake up.

“Mornin’, Tobs.” Mike said, ruffling her hair as he passed her.

“Hey, Mr. Morgan.” Tobin smiled and handed him her leftover pop-tart. “I kind of want to leave early this morning to get to the ranch.”

“Of course.” He said, nodding. “I didn’t ask yesterday because you looked pretty haggard when you arrived and I almost turned you into a kabob, sorry by the way… But how is Alex doing?”

“Well.” Tobin responded. Thinking about Alex made her heart lurch, and Tobin wasn’t used to the feeling yet. “She’s doing well. She’s holding up.”

“Alex is strong, isn’t she?” Mike smiled proudly. Tobin nodded slowly. “Why didn’t she come with you here, Tobin?”

“I didn’t tell her I was coming.” Tobin admitted. “I didn’t want her to put herself at risk coming with me.”

Mike put his arm over her shoulder and ruffled her hair again. “You’re a great friend Tobin. Alex is lucky to have you.”

“Thank you.”

***

Kelley didn’t sleep for the entire night. She watched Hope, made sure her chest kept rising and falling. At some point, she’d draped a blanket over Hope to keep her warm. Her skin had regained some color over the night and she looked less gaunt than the day before.

Kelley stood up and approached the pool table. Hope looked beautiful when she was asleep. She looked less angry when she slept; her features were softer and calmer. Gently, Kelley reached out and brushed her thumb along Hope’s cheek. _I can’t lose you._

Hope had always been there for her. Throughout her entire National Team career, Hope was there to support her and take care of her. She kept Kelley motivated. Whenever Kelley wanted to quit, wanted to give up and go home, Hope held her and supported her until she was strong again. Kelley couldn’t imagine where she would be without Hope, her own personal cheerleader.

Kelley had been there for Hope too. Through all the drama in her life with her ex-husband, Kelley was there when Hope would try to hide her tears. Kelley liked to think that she was the only person who’d ever seen Hope Solo upset and drained like that; she was the only one who Hope trusted completely.

Neither girl knew exactly when their bond had turned into something more, but they weren’t complaining.

“Kel?”

Hope covered Kelley’s hand with her own, her eyes opening slowly. Kelley leaned down and kissed Hope’s forehead. “Hey, champ.”

“My leg hurts like hell.” Hope mumbled. “What time is it? We need to organize a patrol and start--”

“It’s covered.” Kelley assured the woman. “Sit up slowly; you were out all night.”

“I need to thank Christie.” Hope said once she was upright. Kelley nodded. “Thank her for not letting me die.”

“You wouldn’t have died. You’re too badass.” Kelley answered. “You should probably take it easy for a while.”

Hope frowned at the thought of not being out and about, helping the group, but she couldn’t argue when Kelley had her hands on her hips and that steadfast look in her eyes. She looked exhausted. Hope’s eyes narrowed. “You look tired, Kel. Did you get sleep?”

“Uh… I mean…”

“You didn’t.” Hope rolled her eyes and moved over on the table, making a little room for Kelley. “Come up here and get some rest.”

Kelley complied, settling in next to Hope. She rested her head on the taller woman’s chest and draped an arm over her torso. Hope held her close, peppering Kelley’s forehead with kisses every so often. It didn’t take long for the girl to fall asleep.

***

“We’re organizing a patrol to go up the road and see what’s there.” Abby said. “We’re thinking a group of five. I’m going, who’s going with me?”

Ashlyn’s hand went up immediately, as did Alex’s. She needed something to forget about Tobin, and taking a long walk seemed to be the best remedy. Kling and Moe raised their hands a few seconds later, and the group of five was decided.

Abby dismissed the group from the courtyard and everybody went about their business. Before Ali could leave and scurry off to the garden, Ashlyn grabbed her wrist and stopped her. “Ali, are you alright? You’re being distant with me.”

Ali blinked a few times. “Uh… Yeah. Yeah, Ash, I’m fine. Get ready for the patrol. I’ll talk to later, okay?”

Ali gave her a quick kiss and dashed off before Ashlyn could say anything more. Ashlyn watched as the brunette rushed off. It was weird for Ali to act so distant and far away, but there wasn’t much she could do. She had a mission to think about.

***

The group rallied together at the gate. “We should walk to conserve our gasoline.”

They all nodded and agreed with Abby. Christie and Lauren opened up the gates and allowed the patrol through, shutting it promptly after. Moe spun her knife around in her hand and shouldered Kling. “What do you think we’ll find?”

Kling shrugged. “The cure to the apocalypse, hopefully. Best case scenario.”

“Worst case scenario?” Moe asked.

“We die.” Alex said darkly.

No one said much after that.

After about two miles and a little over half an hour of walking, they came across a branch in the road. A sign was stuck up in the fork. Abby read the sign out loud to the group. “Reservoir, turn right. Wouldn’t hurt to check it out.”

They followed Abby down the narrow street. It was shaded by huge trees on both sides. As they got closer and closer, Ashlyn got a chill down her back. Something didn’t seem right about where they were headed. But she was curious to see what was at the end of the road. If the reservoir still had water, which it probably would, they would be able to collect water from it and purify it.

“I think I see something.” Abby whispered, crouching down.

“Maybe we should go in the trees to cover us.” Kling suggested. They broke off the path and into the underbrush. It was quiet except for their feet crunching on the leaves. Not even the wind blew. It was unnerving, to say the least. They neared the reservoir, a parking lot filled with several cars next to it. The building there was small, a kind of general store slash mom-and-pop shop. However, there wasn’t a sign of zombies.

Just as Kling was about to speak, Moe rested a hand on her shoulder. When she turned around to say something, it wasn’t Moe. “Zombie! Get-- fuck!”

Kling propelled herself backwards as the zombie aimed to bite her. She let out a piercing scream and continued to kick her legs out at the zombie, throwing it backwards. Ashlyn leapt into action and drove her knife through the zombie’s skull, silencing its growls. Kling placed her hand over her heart and tried to stop hyperventilating.

“Kling, are you okay?” Moe knelt down next to her. “Did it bite you?”

“No. I’m fine. Not bitten.” Kling assured her, legs shaking as she got to her feet. “That was terrifying. Thanks, Ash.”

Ashlyn shrugged. “Don’t mention it.”

“Guys.” Abby hushed them. “Look!”

They all crouched behind the bushes as a figure exited the store by the reservoir. He was at least 6’4”, with a crisp white t-shirt and blue jeans on. “A real person.”

The man looked in their direction and shouted something that the group didn’t quite catch. A moment later, he reached behind him and produced something shiny and metallic. Ashlyn stiffened. “He’s got a gun.”

Before she could get another word out, a gunshot ricocheted off the tree near them. They scattered like ants, running in different directions. Alex sprinted back the way they came with Abby while Kling, Moe, and Ashlyn zig-zagged. Another bullet hit a rock by Ashlyn’s foot and her heart jumped into her throat.

“Keep running!” She shouted, pushing Moe forward.

They stumbled through the woods, branches whipping their faces and cutting their arms. Moe felt like her lungs were going to burst. They broke through the trees, far enough away from the store that the men couldn’t shoot at them anymore. Alex and Abby appeared a few seconds later, the color drained from their faces, breathing heavily.

“That was a disaster.” Kling stated as soon as she caught her breath.

“Well, we know… There are other people here.” Abby huffed.

“People with guns.” Alex groaned.

“And they know we’re here too.” Moe said nervously. “We need to get back and warn everyone.”

“Prepare for the worst.” Abby said. She put an arm around Moe and an arm around Alex. “Come on, let’s get home.”

***

Tobin drove with Mike and Pam in the back seat, a few suitcases loaded into the trunk. She tapped her fingers against the steering wheel as she drove the way back to the ranch. Tobin wished she had music to listen to instead of the awkward silence, filled with the occasional ‘ooh’ or ‘oh god’ when they passed something particularly bad.

“Where is this ranch?” Pam asked.

“Almost in the mountains. Way out of the city.” Tobin answered. She didn’t feel up for much conversation. She was tired and sore, even her bones hurt. She just wanted to get back to the ranch, face whatever fallout came with her decision, and sleep. Sleeping on the couch at Alex’s house hadn’t exactly done wonders for her back, and she was starting to grow hungry again.

“And it’s safe?” Mike inquired.

“Safer than the city.” Tobin said.

“That’s good.” Alex’s parents both said. Tobin nodded, willing herself to not just pass out at the wheel.

Hopefully Alex didn’t hate her at the end of this. Tobin doubted she would. However, she had a feeling that it would be hard to get forgiveness from Kelley. Tobin tried not to think about it.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the suuuuuuper short chapter!

“They live at the reservoir. There’s at least two of them there, but they both have guns.” Abby explained to the entire group minus Alex and Christie. Pain had begun to flare up in Alex’s ankle on the trek back, so she was being treated in their little makeshift doctor’s office.

“They have cars, too. They’re definitely a threat.” Kling added.

Hope had her arm over Kelley’s shoulders, her face set into a deeper frown than usual. “We need to start boarding that gate up. I want people on that immediately, and we need to find a place from which we can safely guard the ranch.”

“Guns, too.” Abby continued. “Although I’m not sure where we’ll find them.”

“There’s a gun shop in the city worth a try.” Christen said.

“Lead a patrol there.” Hope ordered. Christen nodded quickly and grabbed JJ’s hand, tugging her off towards the cars. Hope rubbed the cut on her thigh and tried to hide her wince.

“Hope, go help Christie out, alright? I’m going to go with Christen and JJ.” Kelley didn’t wait for the argument she knew Hope would pose. She kissed Hope quickly, her hands finding Hope’s jawline. And then she was walking away, chasing after Christen and JJ to the cars. Hope watched as everyone sprung into action, some heading to the garden or the barns, some organizing the supplies needed to barricade the gates. Hope felt useless, her leg too sore and weak to help with really everything.

Begrudgingly, she hobbled towards Christie’s house.

***

The one-car mission of Christen, JJ, and Kelley left a few minutes later. Everything seemed to settle down after that, with Abby heading the renovation efforts. Moe and Kling had snuck off to relax after their harrowing ordeal.

“You sure we shouldn’t be helping?” Moe asked as they sat in the barn’s lobby. They shared a bag of potato chips between them, as well as a warm bottle of Coca Cola.

“Moe, we almost got _shot_. I don’t think they’ll blame us for a little R &R.” Kling answered, stuffing several chips into her mouth at once.

“I hope the girls find guns while they’re out.” Moe said. “We’re going to need them.”

“Yeah.” Kling trailed off. “Can we not talk about anything relating to… to this, anymore?”

Moe nodded. “One more question, though.”

“Shoot.” Kling said, rolling her eyes.

“How’re you so good at pretending to not be scared?” Moe asked softly. “‘Cause I feel like a deer caught in headlights 97% of the time.”

Kling shrugged. “I don’t know. I think about who I need to be strong for.”

“Like who?”

“Like you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, hope you enjoyed reading and follow me on tumblr tobingriffin & maybe send some prompt requests (aka I have so much free time please cure my boredom)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another short chapter before I start getting into the larger plot  
> hope y'all enjoy!

“Pinoe, if you keep singing I swear I will hit you with this board.” Carli threatened, turning her head to glare at the blonde. She propped a long plank of wood across the gate and waited for Pinoe to nail it in. But Pinoe couldn’t, as she was in the middle of her dramatic ‘This is What Dreams Are Made Of’ solo, singing loudly into the hammer as if it was a mic. Carli did not appreciate it that much.

“Sorry.” Pinoe said, cutting her solo short. There was no need to bother an already annoyed Carli Lloyd. At least, if she wanted to keep her life. She nailed in the piece of wood and waited for Carli to grab another one.

Alex watched the mostly harmonious teamwork from Christie’s porch. She sat on the steps, her ankle wrapped in compression tape to help the healing process. But Christie had forbidden her from any work, so she resorted to watching everyone else thoughtfully. Of course, of course she had to roll her ankle while running. She just couldn’t escape being injured.

“Alex.” Hope sat down heavily next to her. She passed her a glass filled with blue liquid. “Gatorade. Drink up.”

Alex and Hope both sipped out of their own glasses. Hope wasn’t much of a talker if the person next to her wasn’t Kelley. Alex didn’t really have anything productive to say. So they sat in a compatible silence, drinking Gatorade out of fancy glasses and watching the rest of the team work.

Their heads snapped up when they heard an engine approaching. Everyone scattered from the gate and collected their weapons, hushed whispers breaking out. Hope got to her feet and stumbled down the stairs. Abby was tense, crouched just out of sight with her eyes constantly darting around. Alex followed a second later, every muscle in her body ready to spring into action and fight.

The car stopped outside of the gate. Pinoe peered around the wall and let out a shaky breath. “It’s not Christen’s car.”

“Not. A. Sound.” Hope hissed.

They waited silently, watching the gate. They heard the sound of car doors closing, and muffled voices. Pinoe got her hammer ready and Hope slipped a knife from her pocket. Alex wondered if anyone else could hear her heart beating out of her chest. She could just imagine that man with his gun coming back and finishing the job that he’d started. Alex rubbed her hands together nervously.

“Hello?” Alex’s jaw nearly dropped. Hope’s eyes widened. “Guys, it’s uh, it’s Tobin. I brought company.”

“Anyone there?” Mike called. Alex’s eyes filled with tears and she pushed past Hope despite an order to stay back. Through the small openings in the gate, she could Tobin standing there, hands shoved deep in her joggers, Mike and Pam standing behind her worriedly. Tobin caught Alex’s eye and she half-smiled, her nervous coming off her in waves.

“Hey there.”

Alex found the handle of the gate and tugged it open. She ran through and flung herself into Tobin’s arms, burying her face into the girl’s neck. “Hi. Hi, Tobin.”

“Tobin?” Hope hobbled towards the pair. Alex pulled away from Tobin and threw her arms around her parents. She was crying, Pam was crying, and Mike was trying to hold it together. Tobin steeled herself and met Hope’s disbelieving and angry eyes. If looks could kill, Tobin would be dead a million times over. She almost positive smoke was coming out of Hope's ears.

“Hi, Hope. How are you?”

“Where the _fuck_ have you been?” Hope asked in a voice that was icily calm and level. Tobin swallowed thickly and shrugged.

“Diamond Bar. I had a pick up to do.” Tobin turned and glanced at Alex’s tearful reunion with her parents. "Uh, yeah.”

Hope approached Tobin and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt. Despite the pain in her leg, she was still able to lift Tobin clear off the ground like she was a rag doll. Tobin's heart leapt into her throat as Hope leaned forward and almost bared her teeth. “Kelley is heartbroken because she thinks you abandoned her. Are you stupid or something? You could’ve told us! You could’ve told someone!”

Tobin nodded, twitching her feet in an effort to get back on solid ground. “I understand.”

“I don’t think you do.” Hope said, her eyes blazing with anger. “You’re irresponsible and idiotic. Do something like this again, and we won’t be letting you back in.”

Tobin nodded again as Hope let go. She tried to ignore the curious looks that everyone gave her, and the angry glare she was receiving from Carli. She heard Hope talking to Alex’s parents about their rooming situation; Hope's voice was completely calm and casual as if she hadn't wanted to rip Tobin's head off moments before. Tobin headed up to the lobby of the barn where she had been rooming, and immediately collapsed on the couch inside. Her energy was completely drained.

“Tobs?” Her eyes opened as she heard Alex’s voice.

“Still here.” She called back. Alex carefully sat on the couch next to Tobin and smiled slightly.

“I want to be really mad at you for leaving. But you got my parents.” Alex wiped a stray tear from her eye. “Why would you do that?”

Tobin sat back up and shrugged. “It was the right thing to do.”

“You could’ve _died_.”

“I was willing to take the chance.” Tobin said. She yawned and rubbed at her eyes with the heels of her palms.

“I’ll let you sleep.” Alex waited a few moments before leaning over and leaving a kiss on Tobin’s cheek. She lingered for a few beats, her hand resting on Tobin’s knee. But just as quickly as it happened, Alex was up and leaving the room. “I’ll have Kelley find you when she gets back.”

Tobin nodded, not fully listening to the words. Her cheek burned with an intensity she wasn’t used to, and she fell asleep with her hand covering the spot where Alex kissed her.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, follow me on tumblr and send me an ask!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 12... thanks for sticking with the story & i hope you enjoy!  
> ((fun fact: if you say presston into a mirror three times I will appear with a convoluted theory about how they're real))

“Here we are.” Christen put the car in park and unlocked the doors. Kelley pushed open the back door and passed her hammer between her hands. Christen leaned against the hood and waited until JJ got around the car to walk beside her. “Let’s keep close. We don’t know what we’re up against.”

They walked towards the gun store together. The front was completely shattered and the first aisles were completely bare. Christen held the door open for Kelley and JJ to pass through, and followed them inside.

A few stray guns were scattered about the store, like they had been dropped in a rush. Kelley grabbed them off the floor and stuffed them into her backpack. She glanced over at the cash register and then back at JJ and Christen. “You guys check the back. I’ll rummage around here.”

“I thought we were sticking together.” JJ said hesitantly.

Kelley pointed to the backpack. “Don’t worry, I’ve got a gun. Multiple, actually. Plus, it might be in our best interest to keep someone in eyesight of the car, yeah?”

“It wouldn’t hurt to check the back.” Christen finally conceded. She hooked her arm with JJ’s. “Keep one of the guns in your hand. We’ll only be a couple minutes.”

Kelley nodded and continued to dig around the drawers, pocketing spare ammo and whatever else was leftover. Christen and JJ proceeded to the back, pushing open the metal door that lead into a storage room.

“Damn.” JJ grumbled. “They cleaned this place out.”

“Not completely.” Christen said, reaching up to get a small ammo box hidden behind an empty cardboard box and styrofoam. It read ‘Rifle Ammo’ on the front, and was stocked full of it. She stuffed it into her backpack and shrugged. “Better to come back with something, rather than nothing.”

“I think there’s something up there.” JJ said, pointing up to the shelf that nearly brushed the ceiling. JJ could barely make out the shape of something vaguely gun-like behind a few boxes. Before Christen could get another word, JJ carefully tested her weight onto the first shelf. She then pulled herself up to get onto the second shelf, and then the third. “I think I can reach it.”

Christen heard the sound of metal screeching against metal and then JJ’s garbled scream as they shelf gave out under her weight. She fell backwards, slamming into Christen and sending both of them to the floor. All the breath was pushed out of Christen’s lungs and she let out a gasp as JJ landed completely on top of her.

JJ rolled sideways so that she was lying next to Christen. “Ow. Damn it.”

When Christen didn’t respond, JJ began to panic. “Chris, are you alright?”

“I gotta catch my breath.” Christen huffed, tilting her head to look at JJ. They were mere inches apart. She could feel JJ’s breath on her face. All she could see were JJ’s blue eyes. “And you?”

“Uh.” JJ couldn’t come up with a response. It was like her brain was short-circuiting, being so dangerously close to Christen. She leaned forward and closed the gap between them. It didn’t even last a full second and then JJ was pulling away and trying to get up. “I’m sorry, Chris. I--”

“Don’t be.” Christen hummed, getting up at the same time as her. She took JJ’s hands in her own and managed a smile. “Don’t be sorry.”

JJ grinned and pulled Christen closer, pressing another kiss to the corner of Christen’s mouth before wrapping her arms around her in a tight hug. Christen held onto JJ like she was holding on for dear life. They finally pulled away, nervous giggles coming from both of them. “We should probably finish in here, huh?”

“Yeah.”

This time, Christen helped JJ retrieve the rifle hidden as far back as it could get. They found some more ammo and another pistol hidden among the garbage and piles of boxes. Luckily, there was ammo for both of them, and they weren’t completely useless. JJ couldn’t stop sneaking glances at Christen as the girl dug through the last of the boxes, her tongue sticking out between her teeth in concentration.

“I think we’ve got all this place has left.” Christen said, getting up. She dusted off her pants and held her hand out to JJ. “Ready to go?”

They exited the back room, the rifle slung across Christen’s back, the pistol barely visible in the pocket of JJ’s pants. Kelley was waiting, leaning against the counter with a dated ‘Motor Trend’ magazine in her hand. She put it down and for a split second, her eyes snapped to Christen and JJ’s laced-together fingers. But she looked back up at them and pursed her lips. “Took you long enough. Good find, though.”

The trio headed back to the car. Christen and JJ climbed into the front, instantly finding each other’s hand as soon as they got into their seats. Kelley reclined in the back, staring out the window absently. When they started to move, her eyes went back to where Christen’s thumb was tracing patterns over the top of JJ’s hand.

Even though they’d only been gone for about an hour and a half, Kelley already missed Hope. Being away from her made Kelley have a physical pain in her chest. Her and Hope’s relationship was never easy, it wasn’t something that happened in shadows and secrets, their time together limited. Their interactions in the public limited. That didn’t matter anymore.

Kelley thought about how scared she’d been when Christie was taking care of Hope. If she’d lost Hope, living in this hell of a world wouldn’t even be worth it anymore. Hope meant everything to her. And as she thought harder, she realized she hadn’t told Hope that lately. She’d said a lot of things, she couldn’t lose her, making her promise to never leave, but she hadn’t specifically mentioned how much she loved Hope.

And if the apocalypse was teaching her anything, it was that things could change in an instant. Kelley resolved to tell Hope that she was everything Kelley had ever wanted and everything could ever need. It sounded so easy in her head.

***

Hope was the first at the gate to greet the trio when they returned. Kelley got out of the car and buried herself in Hope’s strong arms. Hope kissed her forehead. “Did everything go well?”

“Five pistols and a rifle.” Kelley answered.

Before Kelley could anything else out, Hope blurted out. “Tobin’s back.”

“I-- What?” Kelley’s eyes widened like saucers. “What do you mean?”

“She’s not gone forever.” Hope explained further. “She came back, Alex’s parents in tow.”

Kelley stammered over her words, a billion different emotions clouding her brain. Tobin. Hearing her name made Kelley feel angry. It made her feel like a knife was being twisted in her gut. Her best friend. “She went to get Al’s parents?”

“Yup.” Before Hope could continue, Kelley backed up and spun on her heel, taking off towards the barn with long strides. Hope rubbed her forehead, contemplating following the freckled girl. But she figured her being there or not wouldn’t change the outcome of Tobin and Kelley’s reunion. She shook her head and limped away to diffuse a heated discussion between Syd and HAO about whether Katniss or Tris would do better in the apocalypse.

Meanwhile, Kelley took the stairs two at a time. She pushed the door open, planning on yelling at Tobin. They’d be friends for years, Tobin could have confided in her about her mission. But when the door slammed open and she saw Tobin sleeping on the couch, all her anger dissipated.

She couldn’t stay mad at Tobin. Tobin hadn’t intentionally hurt Kelley. Her heart was so good, and Kelley knew it practically belonged to Alex. It didn’t shock Kelley that Tobin would go on a suicide mission for Alex. She approached the sleeping girl and sat on the coffee table next to the couch. Tobin’s hair was tangled and she was asleep with her mouth open wide. Kelley shook her head.

“You moron.” She whispered, carefully tucking a strand of Tobin’s hair back. Quietly, she got up and unfolded the ancient looking quilt from on top of the couch and draped it over Tobin. She tucked it in around her shoulders and made sure it covered her feet as well. “See you in the morning, Toby.”

Kelley looked back at Tobin one final time as she left the room. I hope Alex comes around. She needs someone like you.

***

It was almost midnight when everyone settled into their beds. Alex’s parents were staying in the spare room of Christie’s house until they could figure something else out. Hope settled into bed next to Kelley, taking the shorter girl into her arms. “How’d it go?”

“Tobin was asleep.” Kelley answered. “I forgive her, though. She only did it because she thought it was right.”

“It was stupid.” Hope objected.

“She loves Alex, Hope. She would do anything for her.” Kelley traced circles along Hope’s abs as they talked. “I think Christen and JJ are together, too.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Kelley’s hand stalled. “I also-- well, I missed you when I went out today. It felt weird being away from you.”

“I missed you too.” Hope kissed her forehead. “Truthfully, I was worried the entire time. I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

Kelley smiled at the thought of Hope, stoic Hope, pacing worriedly and thinking about her. Kelley brought her hand up to Hope’s face and reached forward for a kiss. “I love you, Hope.”

It was the first time either of them had ever said it. Kelley didn’t even feel worried saying it. It was the easiest thing ever, three very simple words. She stared into Hope’s blue eyes and didn’t breathe, waiting for Hope’s response. For the first time in a long while, Hope’s mouth stretched into a huge smile. “I love you too, Kel.”

"Jeez," Kelley laughed. "If I'd known it'd be that easy, I would've said it months ago!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've received a couple asks and such about Servando and his role in the story. I can guarantee you he will be in it at some point, but what the point will be, I'm not too sure yet. Homeboy will get his time, though, that much I can say.  
> As always, feedback and tumblr asks are appreciated! thanks again!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short filler chapter just to pass some time in the story  
> hope you enjoy!  
> ((also: who's going to the Julie Johnston signing in NJ? I know I am!))

After Tobin returned, everyone fell into a comfortable rhythm. They worked on the garden, Hope took over the chickens, patrols walked the walls daily. Kling and Moe built a little watchpost on top of the barn so that they could keep an eye on the road, in case the people from the reservoir came back.  

They were getting on surprisingly well. Drinking rain water, eating MREs and whatever grew in the garden, working their hardest to become self sufficient and not have to venture into the outside world. Things were beginning to feel sort of right. Like everything wasn’t crashing around them.

“I have an idea.” Christen said, standing up from her spot on the couch. JJ glanced up from her position by the kitchen counter. She stopped cleaning her sword and settled her elbows on the table.

“What kind of idea?” JJ asked, eyebrows raised.

“Well, I said I’d teach you to ride a horse.” Christen approached the counter and leaned across it to kiss JJ on the nose. “So, why not now? We can saddle two horses and take it slow.”

JJ chuckled. “I never thought you’d actually take me up on that. But I think I’m done here, so let’s do it.”

The pair walked to the barn, their hands finding each other’s easily. Inside of the barn, Reece and Rylie were grooming a short, white pony. Both girls waved. “Chris, JJ, this is our pony! His name is Nugget!”

Christen laughed and pressed kiss to both of the girls’ heads. For kids living in the end-of-the-world, they got pretty well. Christen had a feeling they understood what was going on more than they let on, but they were smart enough to not freak out and shut down. From what she had seen, the girls loved being at the barn and playing with the animals, and were taking everything else in stride. “He’s very cute, girls. I’m gonna go teach JJ to ride one of these guys now.”

“Better keep your mom on call.” JJ joked, reaching out to pet Nugget’s face. The pony nickered and they continued walking, grinning at how adorable the two girls were. They reached the furthest back part of the barn.

Christen pointed out two horses and received their saddles. “Let’s hope they don’t throw us off or anything.”

“Christen, I’m already nervous. Don’t be a jerk.” JJ elbowed the tanner girl and hung back as she saddled and bridled each of the horses. The nerves were starting to take over in the blonde. The idea of being high up on an animal that could easily flatten her, with those sharp hooves and big teeth and-- JJ shivered and tried not to let Christen see the fear in her eyes.

“Does this count as a date?” Christen asked thoughtfully as she tightened the cinch around the horse’s middle. “We can’t exactly have an orthodox date anymore. So can I consider this our first date?”

“I guess we can.” JJ said with a shrug. Christen turned around, a grin plastered on her face. She leaned in to kiss JJ, but JJ placed a hand on her stomach and pushed her back. “Sorry, I don’t kiss on the first date.”

“I am regretting this decision already.” Christen grumbled, taking the reins of both horses to lead them outside, a pout on her face. JJ rolled her eyes and laughed, making sure to kiss Christen on the cheek before they got outside. She laughed even harder when Christen’s pout faltered despite every effort to keep it up, and her cheeks began to blaze red.

***

“Can I say I’ve missed this?” A-Rod chirped happily. There were sitting in the lobby of the barn, looking out over the paddock. A-Rod’s husband Adam was trying to teach their son how to ride a pony while teaching Jrue how to ride a horse. The whole scene was comical, since Jrue’s horse was obviously too small for him and little Ryan’s pony was way too big for the kid.

“If your husband breaks my husband, there’s going to be an issue.” Lauren threatened, her eyes constantly darting out to the field to make sure Jrue hadn’t fallen off.

“Dude, Jrue is like eight feet tall. It wouldn’t even be that much of a fall; it would be like a step down.” Tobin chuckled, collecting the last of their cards before shuffling them up and dealing them out again.

“I still worry.” Lauren said. “What does Adam know about horses anyway?”

“Absolutely nothing.” A-Rod replied. “He watches lot of Westerns, though.”

“He knows nothing, and you’re trusting him with your son’s life?” Tobin asked, both eyebrows raised.

“As we speak, I’m seeing that maybe that wasn’t the best decision I’ve made as a parent.” A-Rod mumbled. Tobin and Lauren both bursted into laughter at the admission, and A-Rod sighed. “Should I go stop it before someone gets hurt?”

When Lauren nodded, A-Rod stood up and hurried out of the room. As the door shut behind her, Lauren said, “Well, if the most drama we have here is horseback riding, I think we’re good.”

“What have you and Jrue been up to lately?”

“Well, we used the journal of all the things we were going to do after my retirement as kindling when we had to boil some tea,” Lauren explained with a nonchalant shrug. “I’ve been working in the garden with Kriegs, Alyssa, A-Rod, and Hao. I mean, it’s fun, but it’s also good. Jrue works on it too and if it means we don’t have to go on those missions outside, I’m completely content.”

“But you two are okay?” Tobin asked.

“I’ve learned things about him and myself I’ve never known.” Lauren admitted softly. “I don’t think you can really fall apart in something like this. What about you?”

“Nah, my life is kind of boring too. Hope doesn’t trust me to go out so she never sees my hand when I volunteer for a run.” Tobin snorted; she could understand where Hope was coming from but being inside of the walls frustrated her. “I’ve just been helping out where I can, usually doing inventory with Boxxy.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Lauren said. “Ever since you got back, you haven’t said a word to me about Alex. I don’t know if you ever noticed, but you usually don’t shut up about Alex. So what happened?”

“Number one, I do not always talk about Alex.” Tobin argued, although she figured Lauren was right. Lauren was always right. “Number two, I just… I’ve always loved her, you know that. But now, it’s more ‘I’m in love with her’ rather than ‘I love her’. You know what I’m saying?”

Tobin knew she could trust Lauren. They’d been friends forever, and there was nothing either of them could say or do that could ruin their friendship. Lauren stared at Tobin with a level expression. “Well, you’re not going to get anywhere telling me about it. I agree that it would suck if it didn’t work out, because we all live in such close quarters, but if it’s something heavy on your mind. Go for it.”

Tobin smiled. “Thanks, Cheney. I think I needed that.”

“I know you needed that.” Lauren answered. “Now let’s go get A-Rod before she gets trampled.”

***

“How did you make tea? The stoves don’t work.” Hope asked as she settled in for afternoon tea with Carli. It was the only thing that was slightly normal in Hope’s life, since Carli understood that Hope didn’t talk much, and never pressured her into long-winded conversations.

“Well, there’s this amazing thing called fire. Have you ever heard of it?” Carli asked sarcastically.

“You lit a fire?” Hope questioned with her eyebrows raised. “What if the fire spread?”

“Don’t worry.” Brian, Carli’s fiance, said smoothly. He set down a plate of mildly stale donuts in front of them, patted Hope’s shoulder, and then gave Carli a kiss on the cheek. “We contained it, just as responsible adults should.”

“Do you not trust us?” Carli asked, and Hope scoffed.

“I would complain more.” Hope muttered. “But this tea is delicious.”

“You’re welcome.” Brian laughed before walking out of the room.

“Is it bad that I’m bored?” Carli asked. “Sitting around, doing nothing? Like, there is literally nothing to do.”

“I’ve noticed.” Hope said. “I don’t know. Learn to play guitar or something.”

“I don’t have a guitar, Hope.”

“Build a puzzle?”

Carli rolled her eyes. “Have I mentioned lately that you bother me?”

Hope smirked. “Thank you.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note 1: to the anon who sent me an ask on Tumblr that I did not publish, I saw you. stop predicting my story line lol  
> Note 2: a lot of you want Krashlyn. I know I'm not including them much, but I have big plans ahead for them. they have a scene in the next chapter, so I haven't forgotten them completely!
> 
> And as always, I love feedback both on her and on Tumblr, so shoot me an ask or leave me a comment!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to my new anonymous best friend -- I would put what you predicted in this chapter, but I've actually written up to like, chapter 23 I think, so you're gonna have to hang in there for a little while longer!  
> enjoy the chapter!!  
> ((new fun fact: Julie Johnston is literally the sweetest human on the face of the planet))

The last two weeks were the worst Ashlyn had ever experienced in her life. It was like Ali wouldn’t even acknowledge her anymore. Everyday she’d wake up and kiss her cheek and tell her good morning; Ali would just smile like it hurt and leave before they could make conversation. Every night when Ashlyn would climb into their makeshift bed, she’d throw her arm over Ali’s middle and nuzzle her face into the brunette’s neck; Ali would tense up and never reciprocate. She was like a rock. A pretty rock, Ashlyn thought, but a rock nonetheless.

Ashlyn tucked her hands into her pockets as she headed towards the garden. Ali didn’t have to work in the garden for six-plus hours everyday. It wouldn’t hurt for her to stop for fifteen seconds and talk. Two years together. Ali could spare fifteen seconds.

“Hey, A-Rod.” Ashlyn smiled awkwardly at the blonde. “Can you grab Ali for me?”

“Yeah, she’s just watering the tomatoes. I’ll get her.” A-Rod bounced away, and a minute later returned with a slightly bothered Ali Krieger in tow. Ali’s face got even more disdainful when she saw Ashlyn, and Ashlyn wanted to melt through the earth.

“Ashlyn.”

_She never calls me by my full name._ “Hey, Als.”

“I was kind of busy so,” She turned and looked at all the plants. They were beginning to grow beautifully, and there were so many different kinds growing. It was an all day job to water them, till the soil, make sure they were growing right. It also gave her an excuse to be away from Ashlyn. It made her feel guilty, but when she was working, she wasn’t thinking.

“I’m sure you can spare a minute.” Ashlyn said. “The asparagus probably won’t hold a grudge.”

Ali snorted and relented. If she didn’t Ashlyn would just continue to pace the perimeter of the garden, like a predator stalking her prey. They walked over to a pair of beach chairs set out by the goat pen and sat down. Ali crossed her legs and folded her hands. Ashlyn leaned forward and propped her elbows on her knees. “I wanted to talk to you. You’ve been distant lately, Ali, and I’m worried for you.”

“I haven’t been distant; just busy.” Ali argued. The nerves were starting to bubble up in her stomach, the guilt and the anger and the frustration.

“We hardly talk.” Ashlyn stated, obviously hurt.

“There’s a lot of work to be done.” Ali replied defensively.

Ashlyn shook her head. “You don’t even say ‘hello’ in the mornings. Actually, I think this is the most we’ve talked over the last couple weeks.”

“Ashlyn…”

“No. If I’ve done something wrong, Ali, you have to tell me. I feel like I’m walking on eggshells around you. It’s not fair. We have enough going on already, it’s not fair for me to feel like I’m fighting you, too.” Ashlyn shrugged. “Just, please, be honest.”

Ali sighed. If she didn't talk, her and Ashlyn would just continue to live in a constant state of awkwardness. Like they were on a tightrope. Eventually, they were bound to screw up.

“When I saw you the first day, with the blood on your shirt, it scared me. Knowing you’ve killed things, killed things that used to be people, it scares me. I don’t know why, and I know there’s no reason because you’d never hurt me, but it makes me feel... weird.” Ali felt tears welling up. She didn’t want to be afraid of Ashlyn, nor did she want to avoid her. But when she was around Ashlyn she felt a pit in her stomach and she needed to find ways to not think about it. "Like there's a part of you that's done that. I don't want to lose you Ash, but I feel like I've lost the you that I know."

“Ali. I didn’t know. I’m so, so sorry, Ali.” Ashlyn stood up like she was going to hug Ali, but stopped herself, instead brushing some imaginary dirt off her pants. Her throat felt dry and while a part of her felt betrayed, whole lot of her felt guilty. “I-- I don’t know what to say.”

“Neither do I.” Ali stood up too and reached for Ashlyn’s hands. “I’m being ridiculous, I know.”

“Do you think we could maybe… Start over? Would that help?” Ashlyn offered, even though it sounded dumb. “No pressure for us to spend time together. Try to get back to where we were, before? It is a new world now, after all. You feel like you don't know me... Get to know the new me?"

“It is a new world.” Ali said. Her heart lurched to see Ashlyn trying to hold it together. It probably would’ve been better if they just agreed to never speak again. But that sounded like a worse hell than the apocalypse. “Let’s try that."

“Okay.” Ashlyn stuck her hand out. “Hi. I’m Ashlyn Harris.”

“Ali Krieger.” Ali smiled, but something about this felt final. Her voice almost cracked. “Pleasure to meet you.”

***

“Play again.” Moe said as Kling, yet again, beat her at checkers. They were perched outside of the window on the barn. A few two-by-fours nailed into the roof made a kind of porch, just big enough for two canvas beach chairs.

“Moe. We’ve played ten times. I’ve beaten you ten times. There is a one hundred percent chance I will beat you again.” Kling answered, picking up her red pieces. Moe pouted and leaned back in her chair to appreciate the sunset. The outpost gave them a good watch over the surrounding area to look out for the reservoir men or any other incoming cars. Not only that, but Moe and Kling were the best shots they had. The rifle was propped against Kling’s thigh.

“Hey, Kling. Do you see something?”

Kling watched as a car pulled past. It was a jeep, deep purple. She propped the rifle on her shoulder and looked through the sights, preparing to shout a warning to her group. The tinted window, almost completely black, slowly rolled down. A man’s head poked out and met her eyes through the zoomed-in vision.

“Moe.” She said, her voice stiff. Her hand found Moe’s knee and she gave her a push. “Get Abby. Now.”

Kling’s finger reached for the trigger. If this man so much as opened the car door, a warning shot would stop him in his tracks. Kling had dead-on aim; she kept the crossfire just next to his head, above his shoulder. But he didn’t leave the car. The man’s head disappeared back into the vehicle. He took out something that looked like a medium-sized parcel, beige with string wrapped around it.

The man chucked it out of the window and the car sped off, leaving tire tracks on the road. The screeching caught the attention of even more of the group. Everyone poured from their work stations, Abby at the head of the large group, Hope walking stiffly behind.

“What’s going on?” She shouted to Kling.

“A package, I think!” Kling shouted back from her makeshift outpost. Abby settled her hands on her hips and made some kind of grunting noise. Pinoe snuck towards the gate and peeked through a small hole in the wood.

She turned to the group. “Definitely a package.”

“Pinoe, get back here.” Hope stepped up next, a baseball cap backwards on her head. She looked up at Kling and then at the gate. “Kling, shoot it first. Make sure it’s not a bomb.”

Kling did as told, and when the bullet only tore open the packaging and didn’t detonate anything, they figured it was safe.

Hope opened the gate and had Syd dash out, grab the package, and rush it back in. She practically threw it into the gravel the second she passed through the gate. Her face was green and she instantly ran off to vomit behind the goat’s pen.

“What the--” Hope kneeled down and pulled away the last of the paper. It revealed a severed hand, the skin gray and wrinkled. One of the fingers was bent at an odd angle. Gasps and a shriek erupted from the watching group. Kelley’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh. God.”

Clasped between the pointer finger and the thumb was a small piece of yellow notebook paper. Hope carefully took it from the hand and stood up. She tried to look brave and unaffected, but not even Hope Solo could keep the tremor out of her voice.

_“We see you. Leave, or you’re next. You have a week.”_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tried to put some drama in this. Hope it was good!  
> And as always, shoot me an ask on Tumblr or leave some feedback here! i read it all and it never fails to make me smile


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to my anon buddy -- if I told in what chapters stuff happened, it wouldn't be much of a story, would it? ;)  
> I'm always blown away at the response this gets here, I nearly flipped when it reached 8k hits!  
> Anyway, here's Chapter 15 & I hope you enjoy!

No one got sleep that night. Kling stayed up with her eye trained through the sights until the sun came up. Hope sat at the end of the bed, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Syd paced the entire night, unable to shake the fact that _she grabbed a dead person’s hand_. Pinoe stayed with Abby and read and reread all the notebooks they had about inventory, trying to figure out the best plan of attack.

They all could have passed off as zombies in the morning. Hope tiredly stumbled across the courtyard to Abby’s shack. The door was wide open, revealing Pinoe slumped over the desk, asleep, and Abby cross-legged on her bed, her eyes glazed over with a far-away look. Hope hovered in the doorway and nodded her head slightly. “Wambach.”

“Solo.” Abby greeted the woman and motioned for her to come in. “Sorry; it’s a mess.”

She motioned to the papers scattered on the floor. “Pinoe and I… We’re at an impasse right now.”

“Up all night?” Hope asked, collecting the papers and organizing them.

“Yeah.” 

“Me too.” Hope eyes scanned the writing. It was stuff like the amount of food they had at the beginning and end of each day, how much gas each car had, what plants were growing in the garden, just to make sure they were always on track and their rationing was always good. Hope picked up a map as well, pencil and eraser marks everywhere. “What are these for?”

“Mapping out escape routes.” Abby answered. She leaned over to show Hope one, and then shrugged. “We can’t find a place as good as this. Which is probably why our friends are hellbent are kicking us out of here.”

“You know we can’t run.” Hope said matter-of-factly. “Too many risks. Too many people to move.”

“‘Cause staying here is safe.”

“That’s not what I’m saying.” Hope muttered. “It’s not safe either way. But we can defend here. Maybe.”

Pinoe’s head shot up and she grumbled something incoherent before turning her eyes to Hope and Abby. “Oh, hey Solo. When did you show up?”

“Go back to sleep, Pinoe.” Hope said, patting the blonde on the back. “Let’s be realistic. Either way we’re screwed.”

“What a positive statement to wake up to.” Pinoe deadpanned, yawning.

“If we run, it’ll be slow.” Hope continued, ignoring Pinoe. “We lose people to zombies. We run out of gas. Exhaustion. We might find a place. We’ll have to go through the process of finding new food, re-defending the place. Too many variables.”

“But.” Hope paused and thought about it. “We have Kling sniping. If we can somehow barricade ourselves in solidly, they won’t be able to get us. It’ll be moot, a waste of their resources, if they’re rational. They obviously don’t want to kill us, or they wouldn’t have given us a week.”

“So…” Abby rubbed her forehead, processing the information. It took her longer than usual, it felt like her brain was turned off. “We just need to seal this place air-tight, and you’re saying we’ll be good?”

“Defense wins championships.” Pinoe added in support of Hope. “It could apply here.”

“We have a solid amount of time to do some good.” Hope said. “We can start turning branches into spikes, like that had on The Walking Dead." She was suddenly grateful for Kelley making her watch the show. "Set out nails on the roads so that their cars’ tires pop. Simple things.”

“It might work.” Abby said. “It just might work.”

***

“Hey.” Moe climbed into the outpost where Kling was. Kling’s eyes had heavy bags and her posture was terrible. Moe hadn’t got much more sleep, but at least she had been comfy. She sat down next to Kling and tilted her chin up. “You’ve got those Gucci bags on your eyes, Klingenberg.”

“S’fine.” Kling assured the younger girl, grogginess slurring her words. Moe’s eyebrows knitted together and she carefully pushed her hair back.

“You’re gonna need a haircut too, soon. Go to bed, dude, I’ll keep an eye out.” Moe took the gun and laid it out across her lap. Kling eyed her for a few moments, a far-away look in her eyes. Moe thought the shorter girl was going to get up and go inside to sleep, but instead, Kling pulled her chair closer and leaned her head against Moe’s shoulder.

Moe sighed and slowly put her arm around Kling’s shoulders. “Rest good, dude.”

***

“Penny for your thoughts?” Alex asked softly. The furthest west corner of the wall was a great place to relax, a giant oak tree casting tons of shade and giving them a safe distance from the others. Tobin sat a few feet away from Alex, playing with the grass like a child.

“The letter.” Tobin said. “It’s screwing with my mind.”

“Mine too.” Alex sighed. “Especially after what happened at the reservoir.”

“How are you?”

“My ankle is still giving me problems.” Alex rubbed the injured ankle and winced. “What do you think about all of this?”

Tobin looked, her stare reserved and something Alex wasn’t used to. “I think we stick here. Hope’s not stupid; she’ll agree. We bunker down and weather this storm. What about you?”

“I think I might shit my pants if it comes down to an actual fight.” Alex laughed. Tobin’s gaze remained the same, though.

In a quiet voice, she said, “I’ll protect you, Al.”

Their eyes met, and Alex’s throat went completely dry. She wasn’t used to intensity from Tobin. It was abnormal for Tobin, and Alex wasn’t sure whether to be worried or not. Alex chewed at her lip nervously. “You’ve already been protecting me. I didn’t expect it to change.”

Alex cracked a smile and Tobin smiled back. The girl went back to picking at the grass and Alex went back to leaning against the tree, appreciating the smell of nature. But the air between Tobin and her had changed. Something felt different between them; Alex couldn’t figure out what it was, but the way she looked at Tobin was like she was looking at someone new. Her heart gave a lurch when Tobin’s tongue peeked between her teeth in concentration.

Alex closed her eyes and tried to pretend everything was normal for a while.

***

The group collected by the goat pen in the middle of the courtyard. Abby stood on top, a bandana tied around her head and a green hunting jacket zipped halfway up. With a pitchfork in her hand like Poseidon's trident, she did really well at giving off a badass-leader vibe. Her fearless appearance, along with a completely disaffected-looking Hope sitting next to her, seemed to calm the nervous group. Abby cleared her throat. “As you know, we received a letter yesterday. It told us to leave, or we’d die. Well, I’m not leaving. We’ve been through hell and back already. We can survive a couple of hard-heads making empty threats.”

A few members of the group cheered. Abby waited for the discussions to die down before continuing. “We need to show them that we can survive, and that they can’t just expect us to hand this place over. To do that, we need barricade this place; lock it down tight. We’ll be organizing several patrols into the city for more supplies, and we’ll also be training with weapons to prepare-- if it comes down to that.”

Abby helped Hope up to her feet. Hope adjusted her black bomber jacket and looked out at the group. “We have six days to turn this place into a bunker. Moe, Kling, Tobin, Alex, Syd, and Dom-- you guys need to find a grocery store. Get bottles, cans, anything that will make lots of noise. Ashlyn, Ali, Christen, JJ, Whitney, and Lori-- find a gardening center. We need windchimes, fences, wiring, the stuff they wrap Christmas trees with, maybe a cactus or two. Got it?”

The people whose names were called and nodded and dashed off to collect backpacks and prep for the journey. Hope scratched the back of her head and adjusted her jacket. “The rest of you will be put in training with Abby and I. We need to be fit and well-trained. Hopefully it won’t come down to hand-to-hand, but, well…”

Hope ended her speech with a shrug and climbed down from the enclosure. Immediately Kelley threw her arms around the older woman. Hope wrapped one arm around Kelley’s waist and reached out to tap Abby’s arm with the other. “Make sure to talk to Christie about the kids, alright?”

As Abby walked off, Kelley nestled her face deeper into Hope’s neck. “You’re like, the badass leader of the group, Hope. Like, Rick Grimes minus the crazy or Hershel or something.”

“If I’m Rick, who does that make you?” Hope asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Well, I’d want to be Michonne. But Christen has that covered with the sword.” Kelley pouted. Hope snorted and kissed the frown off.

“Let’s just stick to being Hope and Kelley.”

“I like that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> get yourselves ready for some Talex next chapter...  
> and as always, follow me on Tumblr, shoot me some asks, and leave a comment here!  
> What USWNT members would you want on your apocalypse team?


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so I mayyy have promised a second chapter today... It's definitely not my favorite, but I hope you guys like it!  
> ((tbh i ship kellex but there's still a long way to go until the end of this fic))

With Syd and Dom driving the huge Passenger Van, the rest of the girl piled into the Civic. Alex, as the most well-rested of the four, was behind the wheel, trailing Syd and Dom by just a little. Kling was fast asleep in the back seat, Moe having carried her to the car.

After a quick 30-minute drive to a part of town they’d never explored before, the group came across a huge department store. It seemed intact-- the windows weren’t broken, there was no evidence of blood or a battle, and one lone zombie wandered the furthest part of the parking lot. They pulled into the middle of the parking lot, giving them a quick escape while also being rather close to the front entrance.

“Looks like they’ve got everything.” Alex observed, turning the ignition off.

“We should handle the zombie before it does anything.” Tobin said, getting out of the car. Moe nudged Kling awake and the group rejoined Syd and Dom. Tobin jogged across the parking lot and easily dispatched the zombie. They weren’t difficult to kill on their own; the creatures were dumb, all their senses weakened from whatever illness plagued them. The only thing that really made them deadly were their quickness-- they’re weren’t the lumbering Walking Dead zombies. Tobin figured if a big group of them ever so happened to show up, they’d be screwed.

“Good job.” Syd told Tobin when she walked back to the group.

“Nothing good about it.” Tobin answered soberly, tucking her knife back into her belt. They stood in a semicircle from a couple minutes after that, until Kling finally broke the awkward, tense silence.

“We should probably go inside now.”

The door was locked, but Broon had been giving lessons about lockpicking. It only took Syd a few moments to jimmy the lock and then the doors clicked. They shoved it open and entered the huge warehouse-type store. It had everything imaginable. Shelves to the ceiling with items ranging from computers to clothing to fruit snacks to diapers.

Moe’s eyes widened at a glorious display between the cereal and the granola bars. “Twinkies. Kling, look at the twinkies.”

“This place has freaking everything.” Kling said. Tobin raised her eyebrows and thought,  _this is almost too good to be true_ , but didn't dwell on it. She didn't want to down the moods of the others.

Dom immediately took on the leader roll. “Stay in groups of two. Our first priority is weapons, then food. Canned food, anything non-perishable.”

“First aid too.” Syd added, lacing her fingers together with Dom’s. “Get as much as you can. I’m sure we have time for two trips.”

With that, the groups split. Syd’s headed one way, Tobin and Alex headed another, and Moe and Kling making a beeline for the Twinkies. Morgan looked like she'd seen heaven. “They’re so beautiful.”

“We’ll get them later.” Kling promised, her hand wrapping around Moe’s wrist. “Come on, that aisle is completely canned stuff. Worth a shot.”

A hundred cans of pulled pork, two 55-gallon water jugs, and several EasyPrep cooked meals later, the group had almost all of the passenger van filled. However, Tobin was unnerved. The store was almost perfectly untouched, give a few missing Wheaties boxes and some empty spaces where Coke boxes used to be. But it seemed too pristine to be something three weeks into the apocalypse.

Tobin didn’t want to go back in the store, but they still had several more EasyPreps to pack and some weapons to pick up. They had a great selection of baseball bats and metal softball bats to choose from, as well as some multi tools and other hardware. Tobin had caught sight of a multi-use axe trapped behind bullet-proof glass, and the thought of bagging one of those was enough for her to plod back into the store, walking behind Alex.

While Syd and Dom headed to the food and Tobin and Alex to the tools, Moe approached her prize-- the Twinkies. They were in huge bulk boxes, dozens of Twinkies in each. Moe could swear she saw little halos hovering above each of the packages. Kling rolled her eyes, but truth be told, it made her unimaginably happy to see Moe so excited. It’d been a while.

“We should get a ton.” Kling suggested. “I’m sure you’re not the only one who loves those things.”

Moe didn’t need further encouragement. She pulled out a stack taller than her and half-skipped towards the doors. However, she couldn’t see where she was going. Her foot caught the edge of a display and pitched her forward. It was almost in slow motion that Kling watched about ten boxes fly out of Moe’s hands. They hit the floor and the sound reverberated pretty loudly through the building, along with Moe’s shout of panic.

“Shit, Moe.” Kling knelt in front of the girl and tried to contain her laughter. “Dude, are you alright?”

“Ow.”

“Yeah, ow.” Kling chuckled, but the sound was cut short when they heard a high-pitched scream from the back of the store. “Syd?”

“Zombies! Zombies!” They saw a flash of the blue parka that Syd was wearing before she pitched herself over a display and back to where the butcher would have been working. Dom swan-dove after her, and six dead-eyed zombies attempted to follow them. Kling’s throat went dry.

“Moe, get up.” Kling grabbed her arm and yanked the younger girl to her feet. “Alex! Tobin!”

Her shout caught the attention of the zombies still scrambling after Dom and Syd. Their heads all turned and almost in perfect sync, charged Kling and Moe. They were too quick for the girls to be able to reach the door, and Kling knew that she had to keep the entrance clear for the rest of the group.

Kling took off towards one of the shelves, Morgan following at her heels. It was a heavy duty shelf, and Kling didn’t waste time in throwing herself onto the shelf’s second level. She climbed it easily, adrenaline racing through her veins. She navigated her legs up and slid into the fourth level of the shelf, packed between two humidifiers.

Moe hung next to her, feet secured in the third level and her elbows resting on the fifth. Just out of reach of the zombies. “What do we do?”

“Don’t. Move.” Kling hissed. “They’ll leave… Hopefully… Can you hang on?”

“I’m good.” Moe assured the shorter girl. “For the time being. My knee hurts.”

“Stay still, alright? We’ll figure out something.” Kling peered down at the zombies. They looked hungry. “Hang tight.”

***

Tobin could feel her heart racing. Despite the axes she and Alex both had, it would be ridiculous to have confidence in a fight against six zeds. 2 vs 6. Way too outnumbered for it to be put in consideration.

“We have to do something!” Alex whispered fearfully. “Those are our friends.”

“I know that!” Tobin answered, louder than she meant. Three of the zombies crowding around Moe’s legs snapped to attention. “I think we should run.”

It didn’t take long for the pair to get cornered; stuck between gardening tools and surrounded by a sea of lawn mowers and barbecue sets. The zombies seemed to understand the danger that the axes posed; they circled like sharks around the duo, weaving between the grills while never taking their eyes off of the girls.

“Well, it’s only three, it shouldn’t be…” Alex trailed off as the final three zombies by Kling and Moe approached the striker and the midfielder. “Nevermind. Shit.”

Like a team, the zombies made a half circle around the pair. Tobin knew they wouldn’t be able to fight off six. She looked at Alex, her ocean blue eyes filled with fear, her lips pursed in a frown. “Al, uh, I’m gonna be really cliche on you. We’re like, about to die so I don’t think it matters.”

“Tobin, now is not the time to joke.” Alex huffed, stepping back, pressing closer to the older woman as one of the gray-skinned creatures took a few steps closer. Her breath caught in her throat when Tobin’s empty hand found Alex’s.

“Not joking. Just wanted to let you know, there’s no one I’d rather die with.” Tobin bit her lip. “But I don’t wanna die with regrets. So, I’ve always sort of… liked you as… well,” Tobin had never been good at words, “well, you know.”

“This isn’t a movie, Tobin.” Alex said, her voice shaky.

“I’m not acting, Alex. This apocalypse made me realize something, and that something is that I’m in love with you. And if this stupid thing has proved anything, it’s that we’ve got to live in the moment, and well, we don’t have many moments left.”

Alex’s stomach felt sick. Whether it was her impending doom or Tobin’s sudden reveal, she didn’t know. But she wanted to throw up. Another zombie inched closer, and Alex was seconds from passing out. She locked eyes with the zombie dead in front of her, and saw nothing but hunger in its black eyes. It took a confident step forward. Alex held the axe in front of her. “You’re really serious, Tobin?”

“Yes.” Tobin said. Taking a risk, she turned her attention from the zombies and kissed Alex’s cheek chastely. “Seriously serious, Alex.”

Her cheek tasted salty with tears, and Tobin blinked back a few of her own. She wished the zombies would just get on with it, just leap forward and tear out their jugulars or something. The suspense was killing Tobin. There was no point in prolonging the inevitable.

“ _Incoming!_ ”

There was a blur of short hair and gray sweater, and then a metal bat was decapitating the zombie in front of Tobin. Kling seemed in disbelief at herself as the headless body slumped to the floor. Moe came after her with a wooden bat, splitting the thing in half as she cracked it across the midsection of another zombie. The disarray scattered the group of zombies; Tobin took the chance to push forward and drive her axe between the eyes of the zombie charging Kling.

Syd and Dom sprinted into the fray, too, Dom pushing a knife into either side of a zed’s skull, Syd using a metal baking sheet to level a zombie before popping her elbow back and hitting another one.

All the zombies fell within a minute, the group easily battling off the dumb creatures. Moe had a cut on her arm from her broken baseball bat. Syd casually checked out her nails. Alex tried to collect her breath. “Woah.”

Tobin eyed the brown blood splattered across her jacket and winced. “Everyone alright?”

A few stuttered ‘yes’s answered her. Alex wiped the blood from her axe onto her pant leg. “That was probably a group staying here, which is why it was almost perfectly untouched. We should leave.”

“Al,” Tobin reached for her hand as they left. The brunette turned and looked at her, a million different emotions evident in her eyes.

“Can we talk when we get back? I need a moment to process,” Alex motioned to the zombies and then to Tobin, “all of this.”

Tobin nodded. “Take as long as you need.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll post chapter 17 tomorrow night. Look forward to some Presston, a little Krashlyn, and some Whitney/Ashlyn brotp-ness.   
> as always, follow me on Tumblr and shoot me an ask or leave a comment on here!


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 17, here we go!  
> Thanks for keeping with the story for this long, it means a lot!

Ashlyn, Ali, Whitney, and Lori took one of the sedans, leaving Christen and JJ to drive the cargo van. The gardening center was out of their normal scavenging vicinity, and it was safe to say that they were all tense. Christen drove with both hands on the wheel, JJ’s hand resting on the tanner girl’s knee.

“What did Hope say we needed?” Christen asked tiredly.

“Wiring and fencing and stuff.” JJ answered. “You sure you’re good to drive, Chris?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“‘Cause you look exhausted.” JJ explained. “I don’t want you falling asleep at the wheel.”

Christen shook her head. “I’m fine, JJ. I’ll sleep on the way back, alright?”

That seemed to appease JJ’s nerves for the most part.

They got to the gardening center; it was huge with palm trees lining the front. There were a few cars scattered in the parking lot, and a store across the street had all its windows broken. They parked next to the curb and got out. Christen drew her katana and held it against her side as they walked. It felt a lot more comfortable in her hand now than it did before; she was adept at using it, almost like it was an extension of her arm.

The entrance to the gardening center was a large, white, picket-fence-like gate. It was already wide open, revealing concrete flooring and long metal shelves full of pots and various plants. There was a sale for everything half off-- not that it mattered.

“We should get plants for the garden.” Ali said to Lori, motioning to a large wooden sign that read ‘Seeds’ in bold, thick script. The pair started off to go do that, talking about what would grow best and what they truly needed, and Ash turned to address the remaining three girls. It stung a little that she couldn’t just follow Ali like she wanted to, to protect her, but she swallowed the bad feeling.

“Chris, JJ. You two check the outside compound and find stuff out there. Whit and I will head inside. Meet by the cars in about an hour?” Everyone nodded in agreement, so Ashlyn looped her arm with Whitney’s and ventured inside.

“Feels like forever since we’ve talked.” Whitney said immediately, leaning against her friend.

“I know. I’m sorry, but we’ve all been busy. Always working and you know, preventing death and stuff…” Ashlyn trailed off and shrugged.

“Yeah-- preventing the extinction of the human species really takes a toll.” They both laughed. Ashlyn felt genuinely bad that she’d been so distant with everyone lately; she often took extra patrols around the walls or poured all her energy into working out. But hanging out with Whitney, if what they were doing could be considered hanging out, brought back a sense of normalcy that Ashlyn felt grateful for. “Well, I guess this is the part where we update each other on our lives.”

“You go first.” Ashlyn said.

“I lost twelve pounds, learned that Lori likes to talk in her sleep, and took up knitting.” Whitney explained. “I know, I’m so interesting, how will you ever top my eventful and intriguing lifestyle?”

“My girlfriend is terrified of me because I’m an apex zombie-killing machine. So we broke up, I think, and now we’re starting over, I think. Like we literally introduced ourselves to each other and don’t sleep in the same room anymore.” As Ashlyn talked, she realized how weird it sounded. She rubbed her eyes and checked Whitney for some type of reaction.

“You’ve got me beat; that’s for sure.” Whitney said finally, letting out a nervous chuckle. “That’s certainly weird, but live your life, dude.”

“Do you think it’s worth it?” Ashlyn asked suddenly. “To keep trying?”

“Of course.” Whitney said almost immediately. “This whole zombie mess has taken a lot from us. We’ve lost almost everything. But I guess we’ve each got some sort of shred of before, and that’s each other. Or for me, it’s my grandma’s ring, you know?”

Whitney motioned to the piece of jewelry on her finger. “It’s so completely, totally worth it to keep holding on, because that’s your shred, you know? Ali’s like, your shred of before, and if you lose that, you’re gonna lose yourself.”

“That was the deepest thing ever, Whit. Props to you.” Ashlyn grinned, something calming settling in her chest after Whitney’s speech.

“This apocalypse has given me a lot of time to reflect on life. Christen’s also been teaching me meditation. I’m a whole new Whitney.” Whitney grinned and hummed low like she was meditating.

“You’re still a dork to me.” Ashlyn said, nudging her friend with her elbow. “Seriously, though. That helped. Thank you.”

“No problem. I’m here whenever you need me.”

***

“We are gonna be in such debt when this thing is over.” Christen muttered, filling a shopping cart with decorative wind chimes. She still couldn’t figure out why Abby would want those, but it wasn’t her place to argue with their unofficial leader’s orders.

“Is that what you’re worrying about?” JJ asked with amusement. “I’m sure no one is going to care.”

_No one's gonna be around to care,_ JJ thought, but didn't voice. Christen pursed her lips. “It’s stealing.”

“Surviving.” JJ corrected her. She wrapped her arms around Christen’s waist and buried her face into Christen’s neck. “We’re surviving.”

“I suppose.” Christen turned her head and gave JJ a quick kiss. “Come on, there’s still a bunch more stuff to find.”

“Are you sure we can’t take a five minute break?” JJ asked softly, turning Christen around so that they were facing each other. Christen allowed one more, and then one more, and then one _final_ kiss before pulling away and returning to the shopping cart.

“You know what would be a good place to visit?” JJ said, keeping her hand on Christen’s waist as they walked through the narrow aisles. “Do you remember the show ‘American Pickers’? Like where they went to those crazy collector places? Those would probably rock.”

“Yeah, but they have random stuff. Probably not what we need.” Christen answered.

“You’re a real party-pooper today, babe.” JJ hummed, squeezing Christen’s side. The tanner girl shrugged, letting out a long sigh.

“I’m just tired. Sorry.” She mumbled, picking up a gnome and looking at before putting it back.

“I was kidding with you.” JJ said, and then decided to broach a more serious topic, something that had been on her mind for a while. “However, you have been coming to bed really late. Why’s that?”

Christen shrugged, and the two fell off into awkward silence. Christen wasn't normally a closed off person, and JJ trusted the girl enough that if the issue was serious, they'd be able to talk about it. So JJ dropped it. They managed to find, tucked all the way in the back of the outdoor compound, several different kinds of fencing, piled up about six feet high. Christen picked up as much of it as she could and JJ did the same. It didn’t weigh much; the sign said it was made out of willow or bamboo or something. Christen still couldn’t figure out what Abby could possibly want with it.

“Chris.” Christen snapped up when JJ dug her pointy elbow into Christen’s side. She nearly dropped everything in her hands, but she caught what JJ was pointing at.

Ali stood just barely in front of Lori, holding a spade out in front of her while a zombie staggered towards them. Ali's arms were shaking like leaves, and her mouth hung open like she wanted to scream but had suddenly gone mute. The zombie swung its arm and hit the spade out of Ali’s hand, sending it clanging across the floor.

Christen dropped the fencing and a reached for one of the gnomes lined up. She wasn’t sure what they were made out of, but it was shiny and had a tag that read ‘Fragile’. Christen cocked her arm back and chucked the gnome with all her power. It sailed through the air and crashed against the ground, behind the zombie. The creature whipped around to look at it, giving Ali time to pick up the spade and swing it at the zombie. She caught its shoulder and pushed it backwards, JJ running forward to finish it off with her kukri.

“You guys alright?” Christen asked, rushing over. Ali had her hands on her knees and was sucking in deep breaths, Lori had both hands on her chest in an attempt to get back a normal heartbeat, and JJ casually wiped her blade off on her pants.

“I think so.” Ali gasped, finally straightening up. “Thanks guys.”

“We got some seeds.” Lori said dumbly, motioning to her backpack.

Christen glanced at JJ and waited for a nod that yes, her girlfriend was okay. She breathed a sigh of relief and returned to the cart for their supplies. “Let’s get out of here, guys.”

They found Ashlyn and Whitney eating PB&J sandwiches in the back of the truck. Ashlyn glanced up and smiled, jelly staining her teeth. “Took y'all long enough.”

“We got caught up.” JJ explained, tossing the lengths of fencing into the truck. Ashlyn’s face went from funny to serious.

“Are you okay?” She asked in a panicky voice, jumping up to her feet. She glanced at Ali and saw the small stain of blood across her cheek. Her stepped forward and brushed her thumb across the mark. “Ali, you’ve got blood on you.”

“Not mine.” Ali assured her with a nervous laugh. “I’m alright. We’re all good. Just a little frazzled. is all, but considering how things could go, we’re perfect.”

Ashlyn pulled the brunette into a tight hug. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t there.”

“It’s over with now.” Christen said as the two released each other from their embrace. “JJ, you still driving?”

“Duh. You need rest.” JJ tapped Christen on the nose and opened the door for her. “We’ll see you back at the ranch.”

“Shotgun!" Ali shouted, diffusing the tension that Ashlyn was feeling. She raced Whitney to the seat and leapt it, landing her a spot next to the driver, Lori. She watched Ashlyn through the rearview mirror the entire ride.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Up on FFL: Lots of Talex and lots of Presston  
> As always, follow me on Tumblr, shoot me an ask or send me a prompt, and leave a comment!


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ao3 hates me right now so much, it keeps refreshing and then not loading again???  
> sorry for the late update, I was at the sky blue/fckc game. Lindsi Cutshall is now like, my third fav player, she's a beast. Master Bunhead got it going on.   
> Anyways, hope you enjoy the chapter, I really like some of this one.

Home sweet home.

Syd stumbled out of the car raging about getting out of the bloody clothes, Dom awkwardly following her. Kling dashed back to her outpost and Morgan headed towards Christie’s house to get her knee checked out. It was just a minor scrape with a little soreness, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Tobin and Alex offered to stay and help unload the supplies, but Hope dismissed them. 

“You look shaken up. Sit this one out.”

Both of them nodded and walked towards the lobby in a daze. Tobin felt nervous walking next to Alex, now she was going to have to own up to her admission. If she lost Alex, her life technically wouldn’t be over, but it would surely suck even worse for a long time. Tobin pressed the heel of her hand into her forehead. Alex picked up on it immediately. “You have a headache?”

“No. Just a little… flustered.” Tobin admitted, allowing Alex up the stairs first. Alex settled on the couch and Tobin laid out across the floor with her wrists tucked under her head and her legs crossed. Staring at the patterns in the ceiling, little individual brush strokes, calmed her down a bit.

“We should talk.” Alex said abruptly. Tobin craned her neck back and was instantly locked in Alex’s gaze. She couldn’t really tell what emotions the striker was feeling, she looked a little nervous, there was some confusion in there too. Otherwise, Tobin was unsure.

“What do you want to talk about?” Tobin asked dumbly.

“About what you said.” Alex glanced down at her hands. “Is it true? Have you always felt this way about me?”

“It’s true.” Tobin confirmed with a small nod. “I uh, don’t know how long I’ve felt this way. You know that we’ve always been close and I guess it just happened over time. But I was always happy to just, you know, be there for you; I was content with being around you. And then this happened and I realized that our life could be cut short at any second and I wouldn’t want to die with secrets in my heart.”

Alex was silent, and the silence stretched. Tobin waited for some kind of answer and finally pressed. “Can you say something, Al? Anything?”

Tobin waited a beat before asking, “Do you feel the same?”

“I don’t know how I feel.” Alex said finally. “I’m really conflicted about… about everything, honestly. But, but I think the feelings are mutual. I don’t know yet, but they could be. I’m sorry, I’m not doing well at putting this into words.”

“It’s not love for you.” Tobin said. “But we could get there. Eventually. I’m okay with that, Alex. Take as long as you’d like. I’ve waited a while; I can wait a while longer.”

Alex grinned, happy tears filling her eyes. She opened her arms invited Tobin onto the couch, who happily obliged. Alex tucked herself under the crook of Tobin’s neck and wrapped both her arms around the woman’s midsection. She’d lost weight, but she still felt sturdy– safe, almost. Alex let out a sigh, completely at peace, and closed her eyes. Tobin stroked the younger woman’s hair and kissed the top of her head.

She had Alex. Nothing was better than that.

***

Christen sat on the side of the road next to JJ, unable to look up as men in dark hoodies and blue jeans explored their car. Taking out their precious supplies and examining them, deeming what was fit to keep and what could be tossed off to the side and labeled as unimportant. JJ was quietly crying, Whitney was staring at the sky. Ashlyn had her arm around Ali and tried not to look scared. She was failing.

The men were all tall, and ski masks covered their faces. They spoke in what had to be a different language– Christen couldn’t understand a word they said. All she knew was that they had almost emptied the truck. Supplies were scattered across the ground, broken windchimes and torn-open plant packets.

Christen felt her blood run cold when one of the men approached them and stood over JJ. He said something she couldn’t understand. JJ looked up, tears falling down her cheeks. “What?”

He huffed and instead of repeating himself, kicked her in the face, hard. She whipped to the side and hit the pavement without her hands there to break her fall. Christen almost gasped, but the sound got tangled in her throat and all she could do was watch with wide eyes. The man leaned down and searched her pockets before pulling out the keys to the truck. He held them close to JJ’s face as if to say ‘I was looking for this’. Christen leaned over to help JJ back up– her face had roadburn and her lip was split wide open– but the man glared at her and she couldn’t move.

JJ sat back up and wiped the blood off her chin. Now tears were steadily running down her cheeks, her hair a complete mess too. The men conversed just out of earshot, constantly glancing over at them. JJ grabbed Christen’s wrist. “We could make a break for it, right now.”

“They have guns.” Lori whispered. “We’d never make it. Just, stay still.”

The men walked back towards them, pistols in their hands. Christen swallowed thickly. One man stood at one end of the line next to Ali, the other stood next to Christen, and the third stood in the dead center. He raised his gun, and Christen knew what was coming before it happened. The first shot hit Lori in the chest.

The second hit Whitney.

Christen ducked, the bullet meant for her lodging itself in JJ’s shoulder. She turned and looked; Ali was facedown on the pavement and Ashlyn was clutching her stomach in pain. Whitney and Lori were lost causes. JJ was staring at her with glazed over eyes, a bullet hole directly over where her heart was.

“No!” Christen screamed. “JJ!”

“Chris?” JJ spoke but her mouth didn’t move. Christen felt something hit her shoulder and then, “Christen? Babe? Wake up!”

Christen’s eyes shot open and she struggled to get her breath back. JJ had the car stopped, her eyes wide with fear. Christen reached forward and carefully ran her fingers along JJ’s jaw. She was alive. Everybody was okay.

“Christen, you were screaming. I almost couldn’t wake you up.” Tears were welling in JJ’s eyes and she grabbed Christen’s hand, kissing her knuckles. Anything to try to get the pit out of her stomach. Christen let out a whimper and leaned forward in her seat, allowing JJ to envelop her in a hug.

“That’s why I don’t sleep.” Christen whispered, voice cracking. “I can’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tomorrow night will be a lot of O'Press and Jolo BroTP-ing it up.   
> As always, leave a comment here or an ask on my tumblr, I love the feedback!


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 19!  
> Hope you guys enjoy!  
> ((I'm posting this extremely exhausted without any editing, I'll go back in the morning and make sure it's not a train wreck))

If the first group came back looking haggard, than the second came back like they were home from war. JJ had a kind of terrified look in her eye that Kelley hadn’t seen from the girl before, and for the first time, she detached herself from Christen and walked off in her own direction, running her hands through her blonde hair. Kelley opted to approach the tanner girl-- she and Christen had always been friends and if trouble was brewing in apoca-paradise, she wanted to help.

“Chris? You good?” Kelley asked, linking her arm with Christen’s. The girl nodded like she was in a daze. “Come on, let’s get something to eat. Hope’s got a bunch of scrambled eggs all stored up.”

“I’m not well anymore.” Christen said as they settled in the house Hope and Kelley shared. “I fell asleep in the car and had a nightmare. God, Kel, it was the worst nightmare ever. Men came, and they shot everyone. I had to watch them die. Ali, Ashlyn, Lori, Whitney, JJ. I woke up screaming, and JJ looked at me like she’d seen a ghost.”

“Have you had them before?”

Christen nodded. “All the time. I’ve stopped sleeping mostly. I’ve reached that level of exhaustion where I’m not longer tired but I’m like, on a different level of existence than anyone else.”

“Like the time we all-nighted for a whole week?”

“Exactly. Minus the coffee and the fruit roll-ups and the Bad Girls Club marathon.” Christen nodded, rubbing a spot above her eyebrow. “I’ve got a headache that won’t quit and I can’t sleep because every time I do, random masked men kill everything I care about.”

“Come here.” Kelley said, hugging her friend tightly. She pulled Christen into her lap and rubbed her back. “Try to nap. Maybe you just need someone to make you feel a little safe. Right?”

“Maybe.” Christen shrugged. She was so tired she would’ve cuddled up to one of the chickens outside. She nuzzled her face into Kelley’s neck and shut her eyes. She fell asleep almost instantly.

***

It didn’t take long to unpack the supplies and send them to where they were supposed to be. Hope opened the door to the house and raised her eyebrows when she saw Kelley fast asleep with Christen huddled in a ball on her lap. Kelley’s eyes shot open and she yawned. “Hey, Hope.”

“Hi?” She pointed at the tanned girl.

Kelley glanced down and sighed. “She’s been having nightmares. I didn’t want her to be alone.”

“Doesn’t she have a girlfriend for that?” Hope asked. Kelley glared at her and she instantly backtracked. “Not saying she’s unwelcome. It’s just weird, you know.”

Kelley shrugged. “I think she had a nightmare in the car with JJ and JJ freaked out. I mean, I would too if my girlfriend had a dream about me getting shot in the chest but-- anyway, JJ went off on her own. I think you should find her and talk to her.”

“Why?”

“You’re friends with JJ.” Kelley stated. “Maybe you could comfort her.”

“Am I gonna have to cuddle her on my lap like a toddler?” Hope questioned. Another glare from Kelley made her drop the sarcasm. “Sorry. I’ll find her. Love you, Kels.”

“Love you too.”

Hope walked out of the house again, heading towards the spot that seemed to be the thinking corner. It was a huge gnarled oak tree tucked just out of sight, dandelions growing around the roots. Hope saw blonde hair and JJ’s familiar figure leaning against the trunk. “Hey... JJ.”

JJ glanced up with tears prickling her vision. “Hope?”

“You’re obviously not alright, so you might as well tell me.” Hope said, standing in front of her. JJ rubbed her eyes and sniffled, still not saying anything. “Christen is with Kelley, by the way. She’s asleep.”

“I don’t know how to comfort her.” JJ mumbled, and Hope wasn’t exactly sure if she was talking to Hope or herself. “She hasn’t slept in a week and what I am supposed to do.”

Hope sat and motioned for JJ to sit next to her. She wasn’t really sure what she was supposed to say to make JJ feel better, so she decided to just share a story from her life. “When Kelley and I were in the Olympics in London, I used to get nightmares. I would have nightmares about both my hands breaking in the worst ways possible, and then not being able to be a goalkeeper anymore. I would have nightmares about the team never speaking to me again because I wasn’t able to play, and they all resented me for that.”

“I didn’t know how to deal with them.” Hope continued, hoping that JJ was listening. “But Kelley was there. She didn’t know how to handle them, either. I would wake up screaming and clawing at whatever was around me because I literally thought I didn’t have hands anymore. So she would hold my hands all night, stay up with me, wake me up when I would start to fidget and remind me that I was okay. She dealt with bruises and scratches from me hitting and clawing in my sleep. She didn’t know to do help me, but she helped me just by being there. That’s what you have to do.”

“She never comes to bed. She just paces around and avoids me at night.” JJ whispered, her voice cracking.

“Then you make her lay down with you.” Hope said. That’s what Kelley did; just latched onto Hope and would physically drag her to the bed and keep her down until she fell asleep. “It’s her health, JJ. That should matter to you enough to get serious with her.”

“I guess.”

“You’ve just got to be there; there’s nothing more you can really do.” Hope stood up abruptly and ruffled JJ’s hair.

“Wait.” JJ said, getting up before Hope could walk away. She pulled Hope towards her and wrapped her arms around Hope’s waist and tucked her head against Hope’s neck. Hope felt the girl’s tears on her neck and stroked her hair comfortingly.

“There, there.” Hope said awkwardly, not really used to such close contact with anyone other than Kelley. “It’ll work itself out.”

***

Night couldn’t come quickly enough. It was finally silent in the camp, minus the crickets quietly humming. Kling traced patterns across Morgan’s knee-- it was wrapped in compression taped, which seemed to be Christie’s only answer to aching limbs. It wasn’t like they had a top notch medical facility. But Morgan’s knee was feeling better already.

“Where’d you hit it?” Kling asked.

“When I jumped up, I just kind of caught it on the shelf.” Morgan shrugged. “It’s better than being bit by a zombie.”

Kling picked up another Twinkie and unwrapped it. “And we got these.”

“Totally worth it.” Morgan nodded, laughing. “That was pretty badass, what you did. You pretty much saved Tobin and Alex’s lives. I was in disbelief.”

“I hit a homer off that zombie’s head.” Kling grinned. “It was no big deal. I just-- I guess I just leapt into action.”

“Well, I thought it was heroic.” Morgan hummed, her hand covering Kling’s. The older girl’s face turned bright red, and she hoped it was dark enough outside that Morgan couldn’t catch it. She stammered over her words.

“It’s uh, it ain’t no thing.”

“Alright. Well, I’m exhausted. Wake me up whenever you want me to take watch, okay?”

“Mhm.” Kling sighed as Morgan got out of her chair and headed towards the window to go back inside. “G’night, Moe.”

“G’night, hero.”

***

After finally detaching JJ from her midsection and sending her on her way, Hope found Abby sitting in her shack, stringing old cans on a thin string. She tried her hardest to ignore where the wood was splintered on the wall, and how red and gross Abby’s knuckles were. “Need help?”

Abby looked up and nodded. “Please. I’m so tired I can’t get the string through the holes anymore.”

“Allow me.” Hope nudged Abby back and began to tie the thin wire through the hole Abby had stabbed out with a knife. “So I guess tomorrow is Phase Two?”

“Fencing around the perimeter, windchimes attached, and I’m thinking a scouting mission south since everything we’ve done has been northward.” Abby explained like she’d rehearsed it a thousand times. Hope nodded slowly, finishing the last of the row and tied it off. “Thanks, Solo. Appreciate it.”

“Don’t mention it.” Hope settled on top of the desk. “Who do you wanna send on the run? We need to give everyone who’s been doing them a break-- no JJ, no Christen. I’m sure Kel and I could handle one.”

“Mhm. I’ll take volunteers, just like usual.” Abby said. She trailed off and then asked softly, “How do you think the rest of the world is?”

“The rest of the world? I don’t know.” Hope shrugged. “Probably the same as us. Struggling.”

“Dead?”

“That too.”

Abby sighed and grabbed something from underneath her pillow. When Hope looked closer, she realized it was a picture of Abby’s wife. Hope just stared for the longest, time watching Abby stare at the photo as if she could pull Sarah through it. “I’ve… I’m gonna find Kelley.”

She pushed herself up and went to leave. She lingered in the doorway. “And Abby? Go to Christie once you sleep. Okay?”

When Hope finally got back to her house, looking forward to a deep sleep, she found Christen sleeping on their couch with about a million blankets wrapped around her and Kelley on the floor, one arm up with her hand on Christen, the other arm cushioning how she rested her face on her knees. Hope walked in and observed the scene for a moment, Kelley so obviously watching over her friend and Christen getting some well-deserved sleep. Hope gently picked up Kelley up, careful not to disturb either of the girls. She carried her girlfriend to the bed and set her down, making sure to tuck her in.

Hope checked on Christen a last time, and added another blanket to the already overwhelming pile before joining Kelley in bed.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is some O'Solo and Harli-brotp   
> As always, follow me on Tumblr, shoot me an ask, or leave me a comment here!


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's chapter 20, hope you enjoy!

Kelley and Hope volunteered for the run in the morning, as did Carli and Pinoe. They weren’t going for anything specific, just to case the town and see if there was anything worth getting. Hope doubted that there would be anything vital, but she was also hoping that the town they were going too-- tucked out and in the country-- would be overlooked by any looters.

They took one of the vans, Hope sliding into the front seat. Carli sat in the passenger seat, Kelley reclined in the row behind them, and Pinoe balancing in the spacious trunk, watching out the back window. Carli glanced back and smirked. “Your girlfriend fell asleep.”

Kelley was indeed fast asleep, clutching her hammer like a lifeline. Hope nodded. “She was up almost as late as me. Christen was going through nightmares and Kel had to stay up with her. She's exhausted”

“And you’re not?”

Hope shrugged. “I’ve played games on two hours of sleep. I’m going on four or five right now. I feel alive.”

“Alright, Solo. Weirdo.” Carli rolled her eyes. “Have you ever thought maybe you’re just so exhausted that you’re awake again?”

Hope chuckled. “It’s definitely possible.”

“Hey, Hope!” Pinoe called from the back. “I know your fancy-ass is used to being carted around like a rich person’s poodle, but could you please stop making an effort to run over every pothole in our way?”

Hope and Carli exchanged a glance and both rolled their eyes, choosing to ignore Pinoe’s loud complaining. Pinoe piped down once they reached the town though. This wasn’t like the others they’d cased-- desolate and seemingly normal. It was swimming with zombies, but there one was off -- really off -- thing. Every single zombie was dead. They all laid strewn across the ground, some in piles, some flat on their backs like they were about make a snow angel. Brown blood seeped around their bodies and flooded the street. Hope swallowed thickly.

“This is unusual.” Carli said, narrowing her eyes. “But we should check out the Hummers, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Hope reached back and shook Kelley awake before pulling up to the cars. It was difficult, Hope had to navigate around the bodies and try not to run anything over in fear it would pop the tires. She pulled up at an angle and cut the engine in case anything living or undead was paying attention. Carli turned around in her seat to talk to Pinoe, and the glass by her head shattered.

Hope watched and heard the sound of air as a bullet narrowly missed her face, passing through Carli’s window, sailing past the two of the women before shattering Hope’s window as well. Kelley let out a scream and slammed down onto the floor of the car. Hope kicked open her door and literally dragged Carli over the divider by the collar of her shirt, and out with her as another bullet hit the dashboard. The airbag deployed and Pinoe jumped through the back seat and out of the car. Kelley scrambled out a second later, and the four took cover behind the van.

They heard loud pops as two of the tires were blown and all the windows were broken. The bullets wouldn’t stop coming. Kelley whimpered as one missed the van entirely and hit a crosswalk sign, replacing the head of the figure with a huge hole. “Fuckin' sniper.”

“Everybody good?” Hope asked in a breathless voice, attempting to be calm.

“Despite being shot at? Peachy.” Carli deadpanned, and Hope glared at her.

Pinoe tried to get them back on track and not argue with another. “Guys. One of these bullets is gonna go through the truck and we’re gonna die. We’ve got to make a run for it.”

“Over there.” Kelley jutted her finger out towards a house on the corner. It had a huge porch with a heavy oak door and windows sealed over with wood. But there was also a small bunker down leading down. It was covered with rust, but Kelley could see that it was slightly ajar. Which meant they could get in.

“On my lead.” Hope ordered, pushing herself up into a crouching position. The others followed suit, and she waited for the string of gunfire to subside before giving the order. “Go!”

They started to sprint, Hope pumping her arms like her life depended on it, which it kind of did. Kelley pulled her backpack up so that she was guarding her head. They had a two second grace period-- the sniper was probably reloading their weapon-- but when those two seconds were over, the gunfire started again. Pinoe streaked past them and reached the bunker first, throwing the door open and flinging herself inside.

Kelley leapt in second, Hope and Carli hot on her tail. Hope missed the stairs and catapulted down the flight, landing hard on her shoulder on the concrete floor. Carli stumbled inside and Pinoe closed the door, sliding her hammer through the inside lock to keep the door shut. Hope got up and rubbed her bruised shoulder. It stung like hell, but Hope had gone through worse and could handle a scrape. “Kel?”

“Right here!” Kelley piped up, sitting among paper towels and canned beans. Most of her hair was undone from her bun and there was a tear in her backpack where a bullet grazed it.

“Pinoe?” Hope glanced at the blonde. She opened a jar of pickles and took one.

“All good here, Solo.” Pinoe flashed a thumbs up.

“Carli?” Hope finished off the role call with her best friend.

Carli, who was huddled against the staircase with a pained look on her face, nodded slowly. Through gritted teeth she muttered, “Never better.”

Hope almost took it as an answer; she knew not to argue with Carli. But when she turned to look at the woman, she saw red blooming under her gray shirt. It seeped through the fabric and through where Carli tried to stall the bleeding with her hands. All the air left Hope’s lungs and her mind went blank. Kelley audibly gasped. Pinoe dropped the jar of pickles and it shattered into a million pieces.

Carli pulled back her hand and glanced at the bullet hole in her side. It took her a second to process it, blood staining her hand and the shirt. She looked back up at the group and chuckled nervously. “Looks bad, doesn’t it?”

Hope swallowed thickly and nodded. Carli winced and sat back a little, putting her hand back over the wound. It was a through-and-through; nothing in the bunker could staunch the bleeding. Kelley unzipped her backpack and groaned. “The medkit is in the car. We need to get out of here.”

“Fast.” Pinoe added.

All eyes turned to Hope. She was in charge, and they were looking for her guidance to figure out what to do. She looked from Carli’s pale face to Kelley’s fearful eyes. Her mind was still completely blank. “... Shit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)  
> next chapter: look forward to some Kling/Moe action ((do they have a ship name)) and some Krashlyn  
> as always, follow me on tumblr, shoot me an ask, and leave a comment!!!!


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kind of a long chapter... Hope you like!

Carli wasn’t getting better. Not even three rolls of heavy-duty paper towels and duct tape could staunch the heavy bleeding. Although it did manage to slow it down a little, buying the group more time to figure out what they needed to do. Hope refused to leave Carli’s side, both hands pressing against the wound in an effort to stop the blood.

That left Pinoe and Kelley to figure out what to do. They sat on the opposite side of the bunker, a single candle illuminating the dark area. Kelley sighed. “One of us is going to have to get out there.”

“The truck doesn’t work anymore, Kels.” Pinoe said. “What are you gonna do?”

Kelley pondered it in her head. “I’m gonna get to the building that the sniper’s on. He’s probably up in the church-- it’s the highest point. Once he, or she, is out of the question, I’ll… I don’t know. I’ll get the stitches from the car and we can buy her more time. Maybe sniper-asshole has a car and we can haul butt back. I’ve got a general idea.”

“That’s better than no idea at all.” Pinoe glanced at the stairs and then back at Kelley. “Is Hope gonna let you leave, though?”

Kelley shook her head. “I’m not giving her that choice. Carli is my friend too. I’ll be damned if I see her suffer.” She trailed off and scratched the back of her head. “Pinoe. If I don’t come back…”

“You will.” Pinoe objected.

“If I don’t,” Kelley continued, “please take care of Hope and Carli. Figure out a plan B while I’m gone, alright?”

“I will.” Pinoe swore, pinky-promising with Kelley. “But just make sure you come back, yeah?”

Kelley nodded, not wanting to make that promise when she knew she couldn’t. She loaded her backpack up with toilet paper rolls and whatever else she could find to make it thicker, and found a thick leather jacket to put on over her normal shirt. It was a little warm outside for so much clothing, but Kelley needed to prepare as much as possible for her mission.

After she finished stocking her backpack and checked her weapons, she headed towards the stairs. Part of her prayed that Hope wouldn’t notice her trying to leave, but that was wishful thinking. “Kelley, what do you think you’re doing?”

Kelley shrugged. “Taking initiative.”

“Taking-- no. You’re not leaving.”

“I’m not gonna just sit here and wait for something to happen, Hope. The sniper isn’t going to magically disappear. I’m going to get rid of them.” Kelley crossed her arms and glared Hope down. There was no way she was going to back down. Not now. She was strong enough to do it. Hope had said so; she was smart and could work her way out of any situation. She was going to work them out of this one. “You need to trust me.”

Hope stared at the freckled girl, her steely expression unreadable. “I trust you. Do it quickly, alright?”

“I love you.” Kelley said quietly, hugging her tight. “I’ll go as fast as I can.”

“Love you too.” Hope mumbled into Kelley’s hair.

Pinoe clapped Kelley’s shoulder at the girl walked towards the stairs. “Go save the world, kiddo.”

Kelley finally took a glance at Carli. She looked terrible, and Kelley knew that there was a giant, invisible clock ticking over Carli’s head; the time on that invisible clock was running out. Kelley checked her assortment of blades and her trusty hammer once more, and took a deep breath. She knew the second she opened the door, bullets would try to shred her open.

Kelley opened it just a crack and looked around. It’d gotten significantly less bright, dark clouds clogging the sky. There was the Hummer, out in the open, and another red car with shattered windows just behind it. Once she got there, she’d be able to jump the low fence around the church and make a safe beeline to the door. With the path mapped out in her head, Kelley made a few false starts.

She began to second guess herself. Maybe she wasn’t as brave as Hope said. Maybe she wasn’t like Tobin, who could just throw caution to the wind and come back a hero. She wasn’t like Christen, who was willing to sacrifice her sanity in order to protect her friends. She wasn’t like JJ, willing to jump into the fray. God. She wasn’t like any of them, and she was going to go out there and get riddled, absolutely riddled, with bullets.

But if she didn’t go, Carli would die.

“You know what?” Kelley muttered, quietly enough so that only she heard it. “Fuck it.”

She pushed the door the rest of the way open with her shoulder and took off.

***

“This rain is going to mess up the plants.” Ali said with annoyance, glancing out the window. She, Ashlyn, Tobin, Moe and Kling were all stuffed in the lobby of the barn, sitting together with several decks of cards sprawled between them. Rain pounded against the roof like marbles, clanging loudly on the metal.

“Oh no. What a tragedy.” Kling deadpanned.

Ali rolled her eyes. “Why do none of you care about the garden?”

“‘Cause that’s your area of expertise.” Ashlyn said in a less-teasing voice than Kling. Ever since the gardening center, Ashlyn and Ali had been trying extra hard to repair their relationship with each other. But since they weren’t one-hundred percent yet, Ashlyn settled for sitting next to the brunette, their knees just barely brushing.

“That’s true, it is.” Ali grinned. “Kling, twinkie please?”

“I thought I was uncaring?” Kling smirked, but the smirk faded when Moe slapped her on the leg.

“Give her a twinkie.” Moe ordered, and begrudgingly, Kling handed one over. Ali victoriously held it up before splitting it in half and sharing it with Ashlyn.

“See Moe? You’re promoting gross, couple-ish behavior.” Kling pointed out. Between Ashlyn and Ali looking at each other every five seconds all lovey-dovey and Tobin and Alex cuddling on the couch -- Tobin sitting up with Alex sitting between her legs, their fingers tangled together -- Kling was a little bit sick of all the coupling up. Not that she had a problem with love in the face of doom, but…

Maybe she wanted it too.

“Gross?” Moe scoffed. “Come on, they look sweet.”

Alex and Tobin didn’t even argue with the couple thing, Alex knew she was going to have to get used to it. She didn’t mind it though, Tobin was precious and it wasn’t the worst thing to have someone playing with her hands and saying nice things every so often. Tobin rubbed Alex's shoulder and then pressed a kiss to the spot, and Alex broke out into a huge smile. 

“You’re such a softie.” Kling teased, and Morgan rolled her eyes. “It’s not that special, Moe.”

“Excuse me, I’m extremely special.” Ashlyn cut in, to the laughs of everyone but Morgan.

“Maybe you’re just a hardass, Klingenberg.” Morgan shot back, like she was actually annoyed. Kling raised her eyebrows in shock as Morgan pushed herself up, grabbed a bunch of Twinkies and stomped out towards the lookout post, despite the pouring rain. There was a long stretch of silence and then the window slammed shut. 

“I think you’re in trouble, bro.” Ashlyn winced and then began to chuckle.

“Not funny, Ash.” Ali said, and Ashlyn stopped laughing immediately.

Alex rolled her eyes. “It’s always great to say that you hate romance in front of someone who likes you.”

Both Kling and Tobin looked up in shock, Tobin more so than Klingenberg.

“She likes me?”

“She likes _Kling_?”

Alex snorted and sat up, untangling her fingers from Tobin’s so that she could sit up straight. “You two are blind.”

“No way she likes Kling.” Tobin argued as if Kling wasn’t sitting there. “Dude, midfielders, we have this like unspoken telepathic thing. I can read Moe.”

“No you can’t.” Ashlyn piped up.

Ali nodded, agreeing with Ashlyn. “Yeah, Tobin. You’re extremely unobservant. That’s not a bad thing but… You know.”

“Can we back to me and Morgan?” Kling asked, her voice rising. She felt like she was back in high school, but she couldn’t deny the way her heart was soaring that Morgan liked her. That was impossible.

“Oh yeah. To be honest, I thought you two were together.” Ashlyn said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “You guys always always do that thing where you one of you looks at the other, trying not to get caught.”

“And then you guys look at each other and smile and laugh like it’s an inside joke.” Alex continued. She'd witnessed Ashlyn and Ali do it during practices many times, although they were painfully obvious. On a rarer basis, she would catch Kelley and Hope doing it. Alex had done it herself with Servando many times-- and Tobin.  _Mostly Tobin_ , Alex reminded herself.

“You guys are delirious.” Tobin said with an eye roll.

"Is there something wrong with me?" Kling questioned Tobin, a little bit annoyed.

“Do you like her?” Ali asked gently, raising her eyebrows curiously and deflecting the tension from Kling and Tobin. Kling felt a blush come to her cheeks and she ducked her head.

“I wouldn’t be… opposed to the idea…” Kling trailed off and covered her face with both hands. A few seconds later came a small, definitive, “yes.”

Kling yelped when Ashlyn smacked her on the shoulder hard. “Well then, dumbass, what are you doing here? Go out there and get your girl-- before she eats all the twinkies!”

After a little more prompting from Alex and Ali and completely useless arguing from Tobin, Kling got up and nervously went towards the outpost. Rainwater soaked the floor from when the window was open, but the floor around it was covered in towels to dry it up. Kling pulled herself up through the windowsill and narrowed her eyes against the rain. She could just make out Morgan’s figure, legs dangling as she sat on the wood planks.

“Hey.” Kling sat down awkwardly. Morgan was soaked to the bone, and Kling could feel herself quickly reaching that point. “Wonderful weather we’re having, huh?”

“Yeah.” Morgan replied shortly.

“So I got my ass handed to me in there.” Kling explained. “Ash, Alex, and Ali all ganged up on me about my apparent, painful, and pathetic obliviousness.”

Morgan raised her eyebrows and looked over. “Your what?”

“My obliviousness to the fact that you totally have the hots for me.” Kling teased, trying not to come off as nervous. Well, she wasn't nervous, more she was terrified, especially if Ali and Ashlyn were wrong. Then again, Ali was never wrong. Morgan stared at her with wide eyes.

“I don’t-- the hots? Are you serious?” Morgan rolled her eyes. Kling could never be serious for long, and it was one of the more endearing things about her. Except right now, Morgan felt like melting through the ground and disappearing. “That’s the worst way to describe it.”

“So it’s true.” Kling chuckled. “You _like_ me.”

“Kling, stop teasing.” Morgan groaned, but didn't deny it.

“But it’s _cute_!” Kling leaned over and put her hand on Morgan’s knee. Her voice got a little more serious and more tentative. “Not only is it cute, it’s completely okay. I kind of suck at this whole romance thing, but, you know. You’re not too bad yourself.”

“You don’t kind of suck.” Moe pointed out. “You completely suck.”

She turned to face Kling, and even in the dark of the rain, Kling could see the huge smile on her face. She was almost tempted to do the whole dramatic and cliche kiss in the rain, but as she maneuvered to lean in, thunder clapped loudly above their heads. Kling jumped and laughed nervously. “We should probably go back inside.”

“We should.”

“We can change and get all warm and cozy together.” Kling winked overdramatically.

“Kling. Shut. Up.”

***

“Can we talk?” Ali asked as they returned to their makeshift bedroom. There two beds on the floor, spaced as far apart as possible. It was pretty early to go to bed, no one knew the exact time anymore but it wasn’t anywhere near nighttime. However, everyone was pretty much exhausted 24/7 and an early night sounded amazing.

Ashlyn glanced up, and nodded. “We can always talk. What’s up?”

“I want to apologize.” Ali said, wringing her hands together. “For how I’ve been treating you. I’ve been really selfish lately, and pushing you away was never something I intended to do.”

“You’re not selfish.” Ashlyn objected. “You’re scared.”

“I’ve been delusional, Ashlyn.” Ali replied. “I thought if I closed my eyes and covered my ears and distanced myself, I could almost forget that the apocalypse is happening. And you are obviously not taking that approach. You jump into everything and you're not afraid to fight and kill stuff, and I guess seeing you do that made things real, which I was trying to avoid.”

“But,” Ali continued. “At the gardening center, I had to actually step up and fight, and I guess a light bulb went off. I can’t pretend that this isn’t happening, Ash, I can’t keep hiding. I’ve been treating you like crap just because I wanted to be ignorant, and I’m not ignorant anymore. I want to apologize and let you know that I understand now, and I shouldn’t be afraid of you for killing those zombies, I should admire you.”

“It’s taken me a while, but I now realize that those things aren’t human. They’re zombies, and we need to get rid of them.” Ali said. “So can you forgive me?”

“Of course I can forgive you.” Ashlyn answered, throwing her arms around Ali in a tight hug. “I understand where you’re coming from too; it’s a scary place and trying to avoid it is completely reasonable.”

“I also have one more favor.”

“Anything.”

“Teach me to fight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter is all Kelley.   
> as always, follow me, shoot me an ask, leave a comment. I love the feedback I get; it always makes me laugh!


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't want to edit the whole thing, so I just cut it. Kinda short, but I hope you enjoy it!

Kelley’s hands shook. Gunfire followed her all the way to the Hummer. The soldiers scattered about were picked clean-- no weapons of any kind. Kelley took the lifeless body nearest to her and while trying not to throw up, removed the bullet-proof vest and pulled it on over her jacket. She refused to look at the man's face, and let out a small 'sorry' as she pulled away from the corpse. The rain pouring made it harder for the sniper to see her, but it also made everything a little more dangerous for Kelley. Fog had settled in and if zombies came, combined with the loud sounds of the rain and the occasional clap of thunder, their approach would be silent and Kelley would be a sitting duck. And if she tripped while she was running… well, she’d turn into a pincushion.

She counted backwards from three and started running again. Never, in all her years playing soccer, had she ever felt the pressure she felt on her shoulder as she sprinted. A bullet whizzed past her shoulder, ringing in her ear, and another hit the ground just behind her. As the red car came into reach, Kelley leapt forward and landed hard on her stomach, covered by the back tire. She collected her breath and she thought about how she would kill the sniper... if she made it that far.

No way would she be able to kill him simply with a hammer. She couldn’t imagine herself stabbing a living, breathing human, and knowing what it did to Christen and how it screwed her up, Kelley was only getting more and more terrified. She steeled herself again with the thought of how proud Hope would be and how alive Carli would be when she succeeded.

Kelley sucked in one last breath and ran towards the fence. A bullet grazed her arm, tearing open the jacket but missing her actual limb, and Kelley nearly fainted, stumbling a few times before picking herself back up. There were no actual thoughts running through her head, just _run run run oh my God run_. Then the fence came up in front of her and she dove, catapulting herself over the low stone wall. She landed in the wet grass feet first and they slipped out from under her, sending her flat on her ass. She curled her knees up to her chest and chuckled drily, the fall bringing her back to a simpler time when they recorded ‘Classic Castle and WNT Wizards’. “So much for grace.”

She stood up and checked the torn open part of her jacket. The shirt underneath wasn’t damaged, but Kelley wasn’t sure that she would ever completely recover from that shock. Luckily, the worst part was over-- she was out of the sniper’s line of sight, too close to the church and behind his post so he couldn’t shoot her anymore. With a final weapons check, a hammer and three simple knives strung into her belt, she felt ready. Not dying sort of empowered her.

Kelley walked towards the door of the church. It was a back door, small and wooden, and Kelley merely needed to hit it with her shoulder for it to crack open. She stumbled inside and narrowly missed the snapping jaws of a zombie. She fell backwards, dramatically landing on her rear for a second time. The zombie tried to reach for her, but it was collared and chained to the far wall. No wonder the door was so easy to open; it led into a tiny back room that had two zombies tied up like guard dogs, snarling and drooling. Kelley had to admire the sniper’s thinking; she’d almost walked into his trap.

Kelley impaled both zombies on the head with ease, it wasn’t hard to since they were tied up and unable to really get to her. Just as Kelley predicted, the second door was locked tight. Thank Becky for the lockpicking lessons. Kelley made the mental note as she dug in her pants’ pocket for their handy-dandy lock picking kit, aka a few hairpins. Kelley still wasn’t a pro at it, but it didn’t take her too long to jimmy the door open and enter the main room of the church.

“Holy crap.” She gasped. The place was stocked, boxes of food lined on the pews and weapons unceremoniously propped up against the altar. Guns of all shapes and sizes, dozens of bats and shovels, everything one person could need and then some. Kelley walked through carefully, nervous of any more traps and surprises.

She looked through the weapons and picked up a pistol. It was fully loaded; Kelley decided to bring it with her since in her heart, she knew there was no way she could get close to an actual human and kill him. The gun would hopefully make it easier. She headed towards the spiral staircase in the corner of the church that no doubt led to the sniper’s post. The stairs were metal and hardly creaked; Kelley was almost silent going up.

Her heart beat out of her chest as she reached the top. It was a small room with windows on all sides, a huge bell in the middle, and hardly any room to walk. Kelley peeked around the bell and saw the sniper, window open in front of him, a dangerous-looking rifle propped on the windowsill. His back was to Kelley, and Kelley raised her gun up. She wasn’t exactly sure how aim it, but she just looked down the barrel and held it steady.

One shot. Then two shots. Then Kelley unloaded the entire pistol clip, eyes closed and not breathing. When the gun stopped firing bullets, Kelley dropped it on the ground and opened her eyes, finally sucking in a huge breath. The sniper certainly wouldn’t be shooting anyone else, Kelley made sure of that. Kelley stepped back, terrified of what she’d done, and ran back down the stairs and out of the church. The sniper had a car parked on the side of the church, a two-seater sports car, but a car nonetheless.

As she sprinted back to the bunker, a much shorter trip than the one out, she began to feel victorious. Maybe even proud. She’d saved them, Kelley O’Hara, the hero of the apocalypse. A ghost of a smile came across her face as she stopped at the closed bunker door. She tried to open it, but Pinoe or Hope had locked it again, so she knocked and waited. Hope was going to be so proud of her for being courageous and getting them out of their predicament. Kelley couldn’t wait. She was grinning when she heard footsteps up the stairs.

Pinoe opened the door, and Kelley was taken back by the tears in the blonde’s eyes. Not happy tears; Pinoe’s whole face was blotchy and her nose was running bad. Kelley’s whole world shattered around her. The smile disappeared in an instant. Pinoe wiped her nose and managed a choked, shaky. “You’re too late. Oh my God, Kel, I’m fucking sorry.”

Kelley couldn’t find any words, just ‘no’ over and over while Pinoe kept apologizing. Pinoe stepped out of the bunker and hugged her; they sobbed until Hope came up the bunker steps and cleared her throat. Kelley couldn’t see any tears in Hope’s eyes, she couldn’t see anything in Hope’s eyes. They were dull, almost empty. “Let’s just… Let’s get out of here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter is the aftermath...  
> follow me on Tumblr, shoot me an ask, leave some feedback here, and have a nice night!


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jeez, i don't know how this is gonna match up to the chapter FrijoleJones busted out today... But here it is! Hope you enjoy!  
> ((not many ships in this chapter, sorry bout that)) on the bright side, no one dies!

They drive home was silent, punctuated only by the pattering of the rain as the storm lessened, and the chorus of sniffles inside of the car. Since there were only two seats, Pinoe drove and Kelley sat on Hope’s lap, her face nuzzled into the older woman’s neck. No one knew what to say. Sorry didn’t cut it for any of them. It wasn’t going to bring Carli back. There were no words, no actions that could bring them comfort.

Hope found a morbid solace in that Carli never had to become one of those zombies, but it was overshadowed by the the action Hope needed to take to prevent that. The knife seemed to burn in her pocket, reminding her of what she did.

When they arrived back, late at night, there was no grand welcoming party. Everyone had gone to sleep early except for Brian, Abby, and HAO’s husband Dave. They opened the gates and welcomed the group in. Abby raised her eyebrows, they hadn’t come back with the cargo truck, but with a flashy, mustard yellow sports car.

Pinoe got out first. She couldn’t meet Brian’s eyes, and she was beginning to feel sick again. She looked at Abby, her eyes beginning to water again, and shook her head. It only confused Abby further, until she saw Kelley step out of the car, followed by Hope, and then no one. Hope shoved past all of them and went directly to her house, silent and hunched over. Kelley too couldn’t meet Brian’s eyes.

“I’m so sorry.” She managed, before chasing after Hope.

“What happened?” Abby asked in almost a whisper, trying to stay collected for the group. Brian was silent from the shock, Dave’s arm wrapped around his shoulders in an attempt to comfort the man.

“A sniper. He got our car, and we tried to run. Kelley got the sniper, but it was too late…” Pinoe trailed off and addressed Brian. His eyes were as wide as saucers and his hands and legs shook. “She didn’t turn, we didn’t let that happen.”

“That’s… good.” Brian mumbled, willing himself not to burst into tears. “She’s in a better place now, huh?”

“Exactly.” Dave agreed before steering Brian away from the car, back to their house and out of the rain. That left just Abby and Pinoe, standing the rain, completely stuck on what to do next.

“We’re gonna… We have to organize a meeting in the morning. Do we do a funeral? Carli wouldn’t want a big production. Just a moment of silence, maybe. I’ll ask Hope.” Abby rambled.

“You won’t be able to.” Pinoe said. “She’s shut down completely.”

“Great.” Abby muttered sarcastically, kicking the ground, and then the car tire. “Just. Fucking.” She took a deep breath and bashed her foot through the headlight. “ _Great_.”

Pinoe watched and said nothing as Abby blew out the other headlight and then stomped back to her hut. Abby slammed the door so hard it bounced back open, and Pinoe followed her inside. She wasn’t afraid of Abby’s outburst; she knew the woman was hurting and felt like she was losing control. Pinoe sat at the desk while Abby flopped onto her bed, screaming into her pillow. “Come on, dude, it will be alright. You’ve gotta be strong now more than ever, people are relying on you.”

“I know.” Abby punched her bed once more and sighed. “It’s just so hard.”

Pinoe nodded. “Yeah. And it’s only gonna get harder.”

***

In the morning, Abby called everyone out to the courtyard. The only people missing were Brian and Hope. Abby waited a few minutes for Hope to arrive, because she knew that everyone trusted Hope and would listen to her. 

Kelley walked up to the pen that Abby stood on and tugged at the bottom of her pant leg. “Hope’s not coming, I couldn’t get her up. She’s,” Kelley searched for a good word, “troubled.”

“Of course.” Abby rubbed her forehead and sighed. “It’s all up to me, then.”

“Carli was her best friend.” Kelley defended Hope. “She needs a while, everyone is going to need a while.”

Abby didn’t respond. She looked up and motioned for Kelley to step back. As Kelley melted back into the crowd, standing between Tobin and Alex, Abby clapped her hands together to get everyone’s attention. When the place became silent, it took Abby a while to figure out to word what she was going to say. Abby wasn’t the best with words. “There was uh, there was an accident yesterday afternoon. A sniper shot out the tires on our truck, and trapped the girls in a bunker nearby. Carli..." She cleared her throat. "Carli didn’t make it back.”’

Abby stopped. She couldn’t say much more. She couldn’t say it was painless, because that would be a lie. She couldn’t say it was quick either. It was slow and painful and Abby wouldn’t wish it on her worst enemy. Kelley saw Abby struggling for words, so she climbed up next to her, fixed her sweater, and continued Abby’s speech. “We all knew Carli well. I can say that Carli wouldn’t want us to sit around and mourn and waste a day. We’ll be holding a moment of silence later, tonight after all the work that needs to be done is done. There will be no runs today, but two small groups will be sent outside the wall to set up the fencing and the cans. I’ll be leading one and taking volunteers afterwards. We need to celebrate Carli’s memory, right? And no one loved to work as much as Carli did.”

Kelley raised her fist up, looking out at the teary-eyed and still stunned crowd. Tobin and Alex raised their fists, and it slowly spread through the crowd. Dozens of raised fists, celebrating Carli’s memory. Abby shot Kelley a grateful, watery smile and climbed down, heading towards her cabin with Pinoe in tow. Kelley leapt down and looked around. “Alright, so who wants to help me out?”

Tobin and Alex followed Kelley, along with Dave, HAO, Jrue, and Lauren. They collected the fencing with the hopes that it would be enough to go all the way around. Before they left, Kelley doubled back to the house she shared with Hope. The door to the second bedroom was locked tight, and Kelley knew Hope was inside. She knocked a few times with no answer. Kelley sighed. Hope had finally done it, all those emotions being kept inside… She’d finally shut down. Kelley wanted to go in and comfort her, but she didn’t have the time. “Hope? I’m going out, alright? I’ll be back soon, and then I want out of the room and eating something. I’ll see you later.”

Still she got no answer. Kelley wiped a stray tear from the corner of her eye and left the house, slamming the door behind her.

***

“Where are we going?” Ali asked, following Ashlyn to the back of the ranch. Ashlyn had several weapons under her arm and a determined look on her face.

“You said you wanted to learn to fight. I’m gonna teach you, right now.” Ashlyn explained, motioning to a makeshift person-looking thing. It was an old potato sack filled with grass tied to a post, a plastic bag tied up on top and filled with more grass, a face drawn onto it. The thing didn’t have any arms or legs, but Ashlyn had done the best she could. She was a soccer player by trade, not a dummy-maker. She was going to test it out before training Ali on it, but Carli's death lit a fire under her. She had to get Ali ready, lest they get stuck in a position like that.

Ashlyn handed Ali a long branch. “This is your first weapon you’re gonna use. It’s about the length and width of most weapons you’re gonna be using, and I don’t feel like you accidentally cutting off one of my limbs. I know you’re strong already; so we just have to work on your accuracy, alright?”

“Yeah, okay.” Ali held the stick like a spear.

“Now hold it out like this.” Ashlyn adjusted Ali’s grip and pointed at the dummy. “You want to aim for the head. This isn’t really accurate since a zombie would be like, trying to eat your face by now.”

“Ash, I’m sure this is fine.” Ali said, and took a hard swing at the head. Some grass fluttered out and Ashlyn huffed.

“I should’ve filled it with dirt. This thing is going to fall apart so fast.”

Ali swung again and the stick bounced off the side of the dummy. Ali swung again and winced when the roughness of the branch scraped the palm of her hand. She dropped the stick and rubbed her hand against the fabric of her jeans. “Shit. That actually hurt.”

“Once you get callouses on your hands, they’ll strengthen up. Right now it’s just repetition.” Ashlyn wanted to stop, since Ali was obviously in discomfort, but she picked up the stick and shoved it into the brunette’s hand. “Go again.”

***

Tobin wiped the sweat off her forehead. Even though they were shadowed by dozens of trees, it was hard work. The would have to set up the fence, support it with long pieces of wood, and then string the lines of cans along the top. It was tedious, but a good idea. No one could get over the fence, as it was pretty tall, and if they tried to knock it down or climb it, everyone would hear the cans and bottles clattering.

“You think we’re going to have enough?” Alex asked, taking a break to drink some water. She passed the bottle to Tobin and they shared, waiting for their temperature to cool down a little before continuing. “And where’s Kelley?”

“She went ahead to mark the path for the rest of the fencing.” Tobin explained. “And I hope so. If we don’t we can go somewhere else tomorrow to find some, or improvise. I hope HAO and Lauren and them are doing fine.”

“They probably are. We haven’t seen zombies around here lately, I don’t think they’re just going to spring up out of nowhere. Knock on wood.” Alex tapped her knuckles against a nearby tree and smiled. “This place isn’t too bad, if you think about it.”

“I know. I just-- Do you ever wonder if we’re just being played right now?” Tobin asked. “Well, not played, but like, somewhere out there, the army has a huge base where everyone is safe? And we’re just stuck here struggling for no reason.”

“Maybe.” Alex shrugged. “But we’ve pretty much searched everywhere in an hour radius of us. So don’t let it worry you too much.”

Tobin opened her arms and Alex stepped closer, allowing herself to be held by Tobin. Tobin hummed. “Yeah, yeah. Hey, I’m gonna find Kelley and make sure she didn’t get eaten by zombies.”

Alex glared at her, and Tobin snorted. “Not funny. Sorry.”

Tobin pulled away and ruffled Alex’s hair before heading up the path. Kelley had traced out  marks in the dirt where they were to place the fencing. But she’d been a while, and Tobin wanted to make sure she was okay.

She didn’t hear anything aside from a few birds chirping. But then she heard it: distant, quiet sobbing. Tobin approached slowly, hand clenched around her knife… just in case. Luckily, she didn’t come across Kelley with any bite marks or a zombie eating her, but she looked terrible. Her eyes were puffy and blood dripped from her knuckles, staining her hands and arms in red.

“Kel, what happened?” Tobin’s eyes widened like saucers.

“It’s my fault.” Kelley whispered, her voice hoarse. “I wasn’t fast enough. I didn’t… I didn’t save her, Tobs, and I was supposed to save her. I messed up so bad. Oh my God, Tobin, I messed up.”

“Hey. Come here.” Tobin put her arms around Kelley and kissed her forehead. “You didn’t mess up. You did good. You saved Pinoe and Hope.”

“Hope hates me.” Kelley sobbed.

“That’s not true. She’s hurting, just like you.” Tobin held Kelley at arm’s length and looked her in the eyes. “Wasn’t it you who said Carli wouldn’t want us to be all sad and stuff?”

“I said she’d want us working.”

“Well, we’re not working right now.” Tobin pursed her lips and Kelley chuckled, nodding. “So come on, let’s finish this up and get you to Christie. How’d you do this, anyway?”

“Punched a tree. A lot.” Kelley stared at her bloodied hands. “It was dumb.”

Tobin shrugged. “I’m not going to argue with that.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter: Presston, Krashlyn, and Talex!!!  
> btw, the comments on my last chapter had me in tears, they were hilarious. I'm pretty sure I'm responsible for like four deaths AND I'm being sued!? I don't know, the comments were so funny I may have to kill off a few more characters (kidding... kinda). I've also gotten some really positive and extraordinarily nice comments, and those make my day too.  
> As always, follow me on Tumblr (I do not have an Insta, sorry), shoot me an ask, or leave more glorious comments here. Thanks for sticking with the story!


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all really want O'Solo to make out. I appreciate the enthusiasm, but you're gonna have to hold out just a little bit longer. Not the next chapter, but the chapter after that, is some O'Solo. I'll be posting a second chapter tonight, in about an hour. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Almost everyone was on edge. Tomorrow, whoever gave them the message -- no one was sure if the reservoir people were behind it or not -- would show up. The only good thing that had happened was that they went back to the church and collected all the supplies there. It put them in a good place with weapons, ammo, and food. Everyone had a weapon, and most of the group had a gun, either real or airsoft.

It still didn’t ease the tension. Even with all the barricades and people posted at all edges of the compound, they were terrified. It was one thing to fight a couple of zombies, it was another to fight a living person. They would be in a whole different ballpark fighting an army of humans.

Hope still hadn’t left her room. Kelley was managing.

***

“Nervous?” JJ asked, her legs dangling over the tree branch. They were high up in the ancient oak, and it gave them a great view of the forest around them. Christen sat near her in the fork of the branches, a few feet higher up. A rifle was laid across her lap, and JJ had a pistol in her hands.

“Of course.” Christen answered.

“Have you been sleeping well?”

“Somewhat.”

“Are you tired now?”

“I’m tired of these questions.” Christen said, rolling her eyes. If she was awake, she was getting drilled by JJ, the same questions over and over again. When she was asleep, she still had the nightmares. She knew JJ was trying to make things better, but she was really just making it worse for Christen.

“I’m try to help.” JJ mumbled.

“Yeah. Well.”

“Maybe you should try to get some sleep.” JJ suggested gently. Christen wanted to throw herself out of the tree.

“Sleep doesn’t fix everything, you know.” Christen informed the blonde, trying to keep the edge out of her voice. She was honestly sick of everything; if it wasn’t JJ drilling her on getting more rest, it was Abby drilling her on how to fight or Kling drilling her on how to shoot. She never alone anymore; it was annoying.

“I know, but you’re so…” JJ trailed off, trying to find the right word.

“I’m what?”

“High-strung.” JJ finally said, and Christen groaned.

“Of course I’m high-strung!” Christen half-shouted. She winced, and repeated herself in a calmer voice. “Of course I’m high-strung, JJ. I’m really, really sick of everything, and if one more person gives me advice on how we’re gonna persevere and make it through tomorrow, or tell me how to fight or shoot or whatever, I’m going to flip.”

“You’re already flipping.” JJ pointed out.

“Because you’re grilling on me like a fucking drill sergeant!” Christen yelled, throwing her hands up. If what she said phased JJ, the blonde didn’t show it. She slipped the pistol into the pocket of her pants and peered over the branch.

“I’m gonna get something to eat. Do you want anything?” She asked in an even, peaceful voice. Christen shook her head, biting her lip to keep from snapping again, and JJ leapt from the branch and stomped off.

Christen rested her head in her hands sighed. “I’m such an asshole.”

***

“You’re getting better.” Ashlyn hummed proudly. It had only taken a few days for Ali to become better at fighting. Between taking shot after shot at the dummy to improve her swing and her to stance, to spars with Ashlyn and the other girls, Ali was quickly becoming one of the best melee fighters of the group, behind Ashlyn and Christen. Her weapon of choice, a long and sharp sabre.

“I feel better.” Ali replied. Her confidence was growing as she improved. No longer was she afraid of the outside world and the zombies ahead, she was ready to fight them. With Ashlyn at her side, obviously. “I’m not as scared anymore.”

“Well, remember to still be a little cautious.” Ashlyn warned her. “Just cause you can match Christen blow-for-blow doesn’t mean you can match eight or nine zombies.”

“I know. But I know now I’d be able to defend myself. I’m not useless.” Ali answered proudly.

“You never were.” Ashlyn said, wrapping another potato sack over the one that was covered in gashes and rips.

“Ash, I hope you know I’m still really sorry. About being such a bitch before. You didn’t deserve all of that baggage I threw on you.” Ali stared at the blade of her sword, still embarrassed about the person she was before.

“It’s over now. We’re past that. And we’re getting back to being good again.” Ashlyn shrugged. “You’re my best friend, Al, what was I gonna do? Ignore you?”

“You could’ve.”

“You’re too pretty for me to ignore you.” Ashlyn said, and Ali blushed scarlet.

“Shut up, Ash.”

Ashlyn raised an eyebrow. “Make me.”

Ali rolled her eyes. “Later. Right now, I’m gonna kick your ass.” She raised her sabre, the thin sheath still covering it and protecting it for the fight. “En garde.”

***

“How’s your ankle?” Tobin asked. “You’re gonna be good tomorrow, yeah?”

“I’ll be fine. It’s just sore. I must’ve sprained it.” Alex replied, rolling onto her side so that her head rested on Tobin’s shoulder. “I mean, if push comes to shove, I’ll manage.”

“Don’t worry, Al. If we have to run, I’ll carry you.” Tobin promised, enjoying her last peaceful day with Alex. She had no idea what tomorrow would bring, and she wanted to take in a moment like this-- lying on her back with Alex cuddling up to her, watching the clouds without a care in the world.

“You’ll carry me?” Alex laughed.

“Duh. I’ll like, throw you over my shoulder like a fireman or something.” Tobin explained, grinning.

“You’re an idiot.” Alex kissed Tobin on the nose. “Seriously though, I’d be fine. Abby’s plan is foolproof; we’d all get out good. You remember the plan right?”

“Yes.” Tobin said. “Ladders in each back corner. Three cars on the backroad by the hunting shack, two more near the highway. Rendezvous at the apartment buildings. I remember, Al.”

“Just making sure.” Alex shrugged. “You know, in case you were too busy staring at me to listen.”

“You’re delusional.” Tobin laughed.

“Am not.”

“Fine.” Tobin relented.

Alex raised her eyebrows. “That didn’t take long.”

“I figure it would be easier to agree with you than to disagree.” Tobin hummed. “Dude, that cloud looks kind of like an elephant.”

“ _You’re_ delusional.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is the big day!  
> As always, follow me on Tumblr, shoot me an ask, or leave some feedback here! Thanks!


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The bad guys come calling, and the bad-asses respond. Hope you like.  
>  (( did you guys see the beautiful picture of Presston today? Gosh they're seriously my OTP))

No one knew what time the bad guys would be arriving in the morning. So everyone was up at the crack of dawn, as well rested as could be, and went to their positions. They made the last minute additions, a few nails down in the road, spikes outside of the gate, and wood boarded up over some of the windows. Kling was only person visibly out in the open, sat on her outpost with her gun in front of her.

“You sure you don’t wanna come inside?” Morgan asked nervously, poking her head out of the window. “We’ll be able to hear them coming.”

“No. I’m fine.” Kling assured her. “I want to see them coming.”

“Do you want me out there with you?”

“Stay inside. You’re manning the sling with Tobin and Alex, right?” Kling peered over her shoulder at the younger girl for a second. “You need to be ready to go when Kelley gives the signal.”

“I know. Everything is set up; the kids are in the basement, the slingshots are ready, everyone is in position.” Morgan said, tying her hair back into a bun. She looked ready to fight; a pair of beige pants on with a black compression shirt tucked in. “I haven’t seen Hope yet; she wasn’t at Abby’s speech this morning.”

“Forget her.” Kling said. “Just worry about yourself, alright? If it goes bad, you know what to do.”

“Run.” Moe answered, and then a few seconds later added. “With or without you, I know.”

“I’ll see you later.” Kling promised, reaching back so that she could squeeze Morgan’s hand. The contact lasted only a moment; Morgan ducked back into the lobby and set the sheet of metal over the window. It was lightweight and Kling would be able to kick it aside, but just in case any spare bullets came that way, it would prevent the inside from being damaged.

***

Only one clock still ran in the entire compound. Abby watched the clock, watched the hands dance across, trying to ease her nerves. They’d be coming any minute. The clock’s hand struck twelve and like they, whoever they were, were on a schedule, the rumbling of engines started. They were far up the road, coming from the reservoir, probably. Abby grabbed her shotgun and stood up. Pinoe, who was asleep in the chair next to her, shot awake and followed Abby out of the door.

“You know the drill.” She said in a low voice. They had a few different, non-deadly, weapons set up. Slingshots stocked with rocks, a few pellet guns that wouldn’t kill someone but cause a hell of a sting, and spears that probably wouldn’t work but at least intimidate. “The goal isn’t to kill. It’s to defend. We may have to though-- kill.”

Pinoe rushed off to her designated post, and Abby crossed her arms. “Where the hell is Hope?”

“Kelley said she still hasn’t left her room.” Lauren informed her, lifting up the visor on her motorcycle helmet. “She said Hope is still… affected.”

“Yeah well, we can’t afford to be affected.” Abby shot back. She knew Lauren didn’t deserve to be yelled at, but frankly, she was pissed off at Hope. “God. I don’t have time to deal with her. Are the slingshots ready?”

“Ours is loaded, as is Kelley’s and Pinoe’s.” Amy spoke up. They had four different slingshots made out of various supplies and pieces of plywood. They were mostly effective; huge and clunky but workable. Filled with rocks found around the compound, they shot pretty far but didn’t exactly pack a punch. Abby hoped they would be enough. “I’m not sure about Whitney’s though. Should I check in?”

“No. They’ll have it under control. Wait for my go, alright?” Abby patted Lauren’s shoulder and approached the gate. It was the easiest place to be seen by everyone; Kling in the outpost, Tobin, Alex, Moe and Kelley next to the barn, Lauren, Amy, Jrue, and Adam by the goat pen, Pinoe, HAO, Dave, and Chris from the porch of the house, Whit, Lori, Ashlyn and Ali by the houses, and Christen and JJ from the post high in the tree.

Abby settled next to Broon, an airsoft rifle in her hand. “Do you see them?”

Broon peeked through the narrow gap in the wood planks and hummed. “Mhm. They’re about to hit the--” A few pops reverberated loudly through the air, and one of the four cars fishtailed and went off the road. “They hit it.”

“Perfect.” Abby whispered back.

“They’re stopping. Four in the jeep. Uh… Six in the other car. I don’t know about the other car. Two in the last. Guns.” Broon gave a play-by-play as they got out of their cars, checked on the one that was driven off the road, and collected together. “They’re all together. Give Kelley the signal.”

“On it.” Abby turned around. She could hardly see the slingshot behind the barn, but her eyes connected with Kelley’s. Everyone was watching Abby, waiting to get their go. Abby pointed at Kelley and gave her a thumbs up. There was a quiet clinking as all the rocks hit each other. Tobin and Morgan pulled back the slingshot while Alex held the rocks from falling out.

“Go.” Kelley pointed straight ahead and Alex leapt out of the way. Tobin and Morgan let go and the rocks sailed through the air and over the wall. They heard grunts as the rocks landed on the men and on their car. The car’s windshield shattered, and a ghost of a smile passed Kelley’s face. She looked over at Abby and got another thumbs up. “Reload and go again.”

Tobin, Alex, and Morgan repeated the drill and listened as more rocks dented the car and pelted the men. Abby nudged Broon as they heard footsteps under the gravel. “Where are they now?”

“Next to the gate.” Broon replied quietly. “They split up. Give Amy the signal.”

A thumbs up was directed at the blonde, and rocks soared over their heads. Broon watched with amusement as a particularly large rock nailed one of the men on the head and leveled him. He didn’t get up from the ground for a few seconds and angrily grabbed his shotgun off his back and groaned. “This is sickening.”

“Aim for the wood and try to blow it off.” Another man with long hair and a shaggy beard ordered. Broon spun around and directed everyone out of the gate’s line of sight. Bullets shredded the wood and shots clattered off the metal.

“Fire again!” Abby shouted, all quietness thrown out the window. “Amy, Pinoe, line up your shots! Syd,” She motioned to the girl standing a few feet away, a airsoft rifle in one hand and an actual pistol in the other. “Get to Ash and tell her to watch the flank.”

Abby winced as Kelley sprinted across the courtyard, narrowly avoiding the gunfire, and stopped in front of her. “We’re out of ammo.”

“Get your group moving down the wall. Find a post to fire at them. Actual guns, pellets, I don’t care. And you, find Hope.”

Kelley didn’t look pleased. “Why?”

“Because we need someone else to rally everyone.” Abby explained.

“I can do that. Rally people.”

Abby rolled her eyes. “Fine Kel. Just go.”

Kelley said nothing, and ran off.

***

Tobin groaned as a bullet splintered the wood of the barn next to her. “We shouldn’t be running from the action.”

“There’s a group on the side here.” Kelley answered in a rushed voice as the reached one of the posts set up. It was just a mounting block and a few milk crates stacked up to give them leverage over the wall. Alex climbed up and her head hardly poked over it. She propped her gun up, looked through the sights, and saw a shadow in the trees. A second later, she saw the dull orange jacket and the matching beanie. Alex waited a second, and then pulled the trigger.

The knockback sent her falling from the post, but not before she saw the blood splatter where the bullet connected with the person’s neck. Tobin was at her side in a minute and rubbed the sore spot on her shoulder. “You good?”

“Mhm.” Alex replied through gritted teeth, standing up as Kelley got onto the post. She was shorter, and had to jump up to check before bringing up her pistol. She rattled a few shots, and a groan of pain let her know she’d hit her target. Kelley leapt off and started sprinting to the next post.

“Just keep shooting.” Kelley said, shoving her gun into Morgan’s hands. “I’ve got to go do something.”

Kelley patted her on the back ran off towards the houses, full speed. Morgan did as she was told; she climbed onto the post, got a look at the four men pushing through the underbrush, and began to fire. Normally her aim was spot on, but that was without holding the gun above her head and angling it. She winced as they returned fire, bullets hitting the wall and carving chunks out of the stone. When the magazine of bullets ran out, she jumped down and let Tobin start shooting. After a couple shots, Tobin visibly relaxed. “That should be all of them. Did Kelley say where she was going?”

“No.” Morgan replied. “Should we go back up front?”

“Probably.” Alex said. “If there’s still guys there.”

Some spattered gunfire let them know that there will still bad guys there. Morgan pocketed her gun and, since their group leader had disappeared, took the front while Tobin and Alex followed behind.

When they got there, the whole gate was destroyed. Wood was splintered on the ground and one of their slingshots was broken and shredded. However, Abby and Pinoe stood in the middle of the courtyard, so they figured it was safe. Abby glanced up as the trio approached. She had a pretty nasty gash across her cheek, and Pinoe had dirt smudges on her face, but no one seemed dead. Tobin immediately ran to Amy and Lauren, and the New Kids huddled together.

“Everyone alright?” Alex asked, heading over to Abby. She pursed her lips. “You should go to Christie before that gets infected.”

“Looks worse than it is.” Abby replied. “Everyone’s good, I think. Most of ‘em are, you know,” She dragged her thumb across her throat like she was slitting it, “But two got away in their Jeep. Towards the reservoir. I don’t know if we should counter or not. Did you get the second group?”

“Yeah, they’re not trouble anymore.” Alex said. “If you want, I’ll grab Tobin and we’ll do a quick scope to make sure no one else is coming.”

“Good, good. Where’s Kelley?”

Alex shrugged. “Beats me. She said she had something to do.”

“Where’s Kling?” Morgan asked, pointing to the empty outpost.

“Dunno.” Abby touched her thumb against the wound on her face and winced. “I’m going to get this fixed. Alex, get Tobin and do a quick run. Moe, find your friend. If either of you run into Kelley, tell her I need her immediately.”

Alex and Moe nodded and started off to do as Abby told. Abby walked off towards Christie’s house, constantly looking around to make sure everything was in order. Chunks of the wall were blown off in places, there were holes in the walls and roofs that needed to be fixed, and that was only what Abby could see. Not to mention the gate; the metal was so mangled that it couldn’t close all the way. While the battle was easy, Abby knew the repercussions would be hard to overcome.

“Abby.” Broon grabbed her arm. “Three of our cars have blown out tires, and two of those cars also have shattered windows. I don’t think there are any deadly wounds, but we’ve got our fair share of bumps and bruises. Speaking of which, you need to get that cut checked out.”

“Which I am doing.” Abby replied. “Anything else?”

“We should probably get inventory on our ammo. We used a lot. Also, there’s a lot of holes and breaks that we need to fix, so I’ll get Pinoe to scan and list what we need to fix each. I’ll report back later.” Broon paused. “Are you okay?”

“Me?” Abby shrugged. “I’m not dead, and I’m not dying. So yeah, I’m fine. I’ll see you later.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is 100% O'Solo. I think you guys will really like it .  
> I must sound like a broken record by now. You guys know the drill-- Tumblr, asks, comments. I love the feedback. It warms my heart to know people love reading my stories, because I sure as hell love writing them.   
> Question Time -- Who's your favorite (yes, choose one person) in the story and why?


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the O'Solo y'all have been waiting for!

Hope hardly reacted when the door slammed open. She still felt numb and weak, she couldn’t move from her spot on the bed. However, she was sure she locked the door. Hope opened one of her eyes and in the mirror, she could see Kelley standing in the doorway. And to say she looked pissed was an understatement.

“Fuck you, Hope.”

Hope didn’t react.

“Are you deaf all of a sudden, or are you just stupid?” Kelley spat. “We just got into a gunfight and I have no idea if anyone is okay because I have to come over here to make sure your sorry ass is still alive. Locking yourself away when we needed you most. When Abby needed her co-captain, when everyone needed you to calm them down, when I needed you there. Letting everyone down, seriously. Fuck you.”

Hope shut her eyes, figuring once Kelley got all her anger out, she’d break down and apologize and it would be forgotten. Kelley had an inability to stay mad, especially at Hope. Kelley continued her rant.

“I understand, Hope. Your best friend died, right in front of you. And you couldn’t help her. You must’ve felt powerless, you must’ve felt like shit.” Hope winced, the thought of Carli making her want to start crying again. She closed her eyes tighter and sucked in a breath. “And I get it. It’s not something you’re gonna get over right away. But laying there like a bum isn’t going to bring her back. There are people out there that are still alive and still need you.”

“And you know what? There’s no excuse for you to stay in here when the rest of us were risking our lives to keep this place safe.” Kelley rolled her eyes. “God, Hope. You don’t have anything to say?”

Hope finally replied, sick of Kelley acting like she knew everything. “Nope.”

“I’m done with you.” Kelley said finally. “You’re acting like you’re the only one who’s hurting. How do you think Brian feels, Hope? How do you think Abby feels? Or Pinoe? How do you think I feel? I’m the reason she’s dead, because I couldn’t fucking--”

Kelley turned and punched the wall, driving her fist through the drywall. Hope heard the sickening crack something in Kelley’s hand broke, and she winced. Kelley let out a sob. “I couldn’t get there in time. But it has to be about you, doesn’t it? I’m so done, Hope. So done. Stay in here for all I care, rot away. You’re so selfish.”

As she turned to leave, her hand swollen and bleeding and _hurting_ like hell, she added. “Carli would be disgusted with you.”

Hope didn’t reply.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't even know what to say  
> i'm gonna hide in the trash where i belong


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just saying, I'm not sure if I'll be posting tomorrow. School is already kicking my ass and when I'd normally write one or two chapters a day, I like, write one in the past three. So I'm probably gonna cut down to twice a week depending on how this weekend goes and such. Sorry!  
> Anyway, enjoy this chapter!

Tobin drove. She settled her hand on Alex’s knee as they cruised down the road, Alex staring out the window with a faraway look on her face. She had a slight headache and her shoulder ached with a fury she’d never felt before. _Great_ , she thought, _now my shoulder’s screwed up too._

Tobin knew that Alex was in pain, she could tell from the way the blue-eyed woman clenched her jaw. But she also knew Alex wouldn’t admit she was in pain, and it was no use for Tobin to press an issue when she would get nowhere. As they neared the reservoir, Alex spoke up. “Park here. We can walk through the forest from here so that they can’t see us.”

“Sounds like a plan, boss.” Tobin said with a small smile. She got out of the car and opened Alex’s door for her.

“Glad to know chivalry is still alive.”

Tobin tipped an imaginary hat. “M’lady.”

Alex chuckled and led the way into the forest. She still had her shotgun and Tobin followed with a knife in her hand. They made the quarter-mile through the woods in good time and ducked behind a half-collapsed sign. Tobin peeked around and saw the all too familiar jeep parked just outside of the rest stop. Alex chewed at her lip. “Should we go check it out closer?”

“Yeah.” Tobin replied.

“Abby wasn’t sure whether we should counter or not. I say we just go for it.” Alex continued, and checked for a spot to run to. There was a dumpster next to the building that Alex figured would be a good place, so she elbowed Tobin and took a deep breath. She sprinted to the location, her legs pumping under her. It brought her back to playing on the pitch, and for a brief moment she felt like she was flying across the turf again, until she was brought back to reality by the dull, almost-continuous ache in her ankle and the blue dumpster quickly getting closer. She slowed down and waited for Tobin to catch up. “Should we find a back entrance?”

“Dunno. Wouldn’t they expect that?” Tobin said. “Like, the front entrance is obvious, so we’re gonna try to find a back way, which is predictable.”

“Fine, Tobin. We’ll go through the front.”

“But--”

“Tobin.”

“Alright, alright.” Tobin relented and stepped in front of Alex to peer around the dumpster. It was quiet, save for the sound of water lapping against the sides of the reservoir and a few birds chattering. Tobin inched along the front of the store, ducked under the window and peered through the screen door. She motioned for Alex to follow, and once the taller woman flanked her, Tobin pushed open the door. The bell attached to the door jingled and they both winced.

Alex grabbed Tobin’s wrist and tugged her behind the counter. The store was completely empty. They carefully walked towards the back, both of their senses on high alert. At the back of the store, there was a simple door that led to a metal staircase. At the bottom, Tobin and Alex could hear voices echoing off the walls. Tobin looked at Alex questioningly, and they stepped back, shut the door, and went back outside.

“What do we do?” Alex asked. “We can’t just let them go.”

“I know. Help me out for a second.” Tobin pulled the dumpster while Alex pushed, and they put the dumpster in front of the door that it couldn’t open. With her knife, Tobin scratched a message.

_Leave us alone._

They made their way across the parking lot to the Jeep. Tobin slashed all four tires and scratched another message on both sides.

_Stay away._

“Think they’ll get the message?” Tobin hummed, linking her hands with Alex’s.

Alex nodded with a soft laugh. “They’ll definitely get the message, babe.”

***

“Well, at least that’s over.” Ashlyn sighed with relief as they walked back towards the courtyard. It was her, Whit, Ali, Lori, Christen and JJ. “And we didn’t even have to do anything. Lucky us.”

“Hopefully everything is as peaceful on the other front.” Whitney said, rubbing her eyes tiredly. “And we’re finally gonna be able to sleep without worrying. That’s a good feeling, right there.”

JJ gave Christen a pointed look. The tanner girl ignored it.

They reached the courtyard. Only a few people were milling around, talking in quiet voices. The mood was somber, but Ashlyn could tell by the way everyone finally looked relaxed. They’d won. Pinoe looked over at them and offered a half-smile. “Hey girls. I was wondering when you’d show up.”

“Yeah, we waited until everything quieted down.” Ashlyn replied.

“Any injuries?”

“Nope.”

“Good. Jrue, Dave, and Chris are working on the wall by the barns. Lori, Ash, Ali; go over and guard them in case the noise drew in zombies. Whit, we need you on inventory with Boxxy, we think a few things got screwed up with stray bullets and we need to re-ration. Christen, JJ, you two go rest; we volunteered you for the night patrol.”

“Doesn’t volunteering mean we offer?” Christen asked.

“You’re the best fighters we have; we can’t waste anymore ammo.” Pinoe answered. “Unless you don’t want to?”

“I have no qualms.” Christen said, raising her hands up. JJ gave Pinoe a soft smile.

“Is there anything we can do in the meantime?”

“Rest up.” Pinoe answered. “We can handle everything here. See you girls later.”

***

Christen shut the door behind her as they entered their home. JJ was a few paces in front, and the second they got inside, she pulled her kukri out of the sheath and dropped it on the counter along with her gun. “I’m so done with that.”

“It’s over now.” Christen reminded her gently. “This bad part.”

“For how long?”

Christen bit her lip. She didn’t know for how long, but she knew that the peace would never last. There would always be another obstacle to conquer. She scratched the back of her neck. “Julie, I’m really sorry.”

“I accept your apology.” JJ replied simply, turning around to face Christen again. She stepped closer and tangled her hands in Christen’s hair. “We’ve both been on edge. I shouldn’t have been nagging on you so bad.”

“It was wrong for me to snap at you.” Christen mumbled, tucking her face into JJ’s shoulder. “You didn’t deserve it.”

“Yeah, well, we don’t deserve a lot of what we’re getting.” JJ said, her hands trailing down Christen’s neck, down her arms until she was holding the shorter girl’s hands. “Let’s go to bed, okay?”

Christen eyes widened and she allowed herself to be led to their bedroom. JJ pushed her back onto the bed, and Christen’s heart soared into her throat. JJ climbed onto the bed after her, and laid next to her. “You need sleep.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Christen grumbled. That wasn’t what she expected JJ to say. She was disappointed… extremely.

“Nope. You’re not moving until you get some sleep.” JJ said, and to make a point, she rolled over. Right onto Christen. She laid completely on her, her forehead resting against Christen’s.

“You’re crushing me.”

“Overdramatic.” JJ scoffed.

“Come on, JJ. Can I promise not to move?”

JJ pursed her lips as Christen gave her giant puppy-dog eyes. She relented and rolled off, but slipped one arm over Christen and the other under, so that Christen was locked in a hug. “Much better. I’ll wake you up later.” She nuzzled her face into Christen’s neck. “Just remember that I’m here, okay? I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.”

***

They held a meeting at sunset. Everyone was there, standing around in their pajamas with tired looks on their faces. Moe and Kling stood off the side, tired but no worse for wear. Abby had stitches in her cheek and Kelley had her hand in a cast-- she’d broken it in two places. Pinoe stood below them as they perched on the goat pen. Abby spoke first.

“We did it guys. We fucking did it.” Abby began, lifting her fist victoriously. “While we got some damage around, everyone is okay for the most part. We kept our home, our land, our weapons. This place is still ours. Tobin, Alex, they won’t be bothering us anymore, huh?”

“No ma’am!” Tobin called up.

“I know these last few days have been hard on all of us.” Abby continued, her face becoming more serious. “Tensions have been running high all around. I, for one, am emotionally, physically, mentally, exhausted. You name it, I’m there. I think we all feel the same. Especially in these last few days. I can say with the utmost confidence that Carli’s up there, somewhere, completely proud of us.”

“She’s probably wondering why the hell we’re doing this instead of working.” Pinoe joked. It made everyone laugh; a genuine laugh. Those were hard to come by, but Abby had worded it perfectly; Carli would be proud. The mention of Carli, however, sparked more frustration in Kelley. It made her think of Hope, who was, of course, absent. Kelley didn’t want to care, but she did. The thought passed in a moment, as Abby nudged her to speak.

“Well… Abby said it best. We’ve gone through hell and back. But we’ve prevailed. No matter what, we don’t give up, and we still have this place. We didn’t give it up, and we’re gonna rebuild, make it stronger, make it better. Because that’s what we are now; stronger and better. Night patrol, set out. Everybody else, bed right now. Tomorrow we’ll be up at sunset, making this place into our home again.”

At the word ‘home’, everyone smiled. Then, Tobin cheered, followed by Alex, until the whole group cheered uproariously. They didn’t care if the zombies heard them. They didn’t care, because in their minds, they’d won, vanquished evil.

They were safe.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> while death threats are interesting, I wouldn't mine more creative insults. Hit me with your best shot.   
> Next chapter: Presston, Talex, and Bling!


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School has been kicking my ass so far. Idk when the next update will be, hopefully over the weekend (I'm shooting for Saturday). I need a day or two to just really outline where I want the story to go and catch up on my writing. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy this chapter!

“Have I told you lately that I hate you?” Morgan grumbled as Kling, yet a-fucking-gain, beat her at checkers. It wasn’t even that hard of a game. Kling just always seemed to know what Morgan was going to do, and therefore have a counter for it.

“Don’t hate the player, baby, hate the game.” Kling answered with an over dramatic eyebrow wiggle.

“Never call me baby again.” Morgan gagged. “Please.”

“Come on, Moe.” Kling pouted. “You’ve shot down every cute name I’ve given you. I’m running out.”

“Are you serious? Cute?” Morgan rolled her eyes. “Fine. Live in your delusion. I guess I can live with baby.”

Kling grinned and leaned back, her shoulder brushing the rifle propped up next to her. She’d completely forgotten it was there. Lately, everything was peaceful. Ever since the reservoir people were driven out, nothing bothered them. For most, especially overactive soccer players, a month of quiet would normally drive them up the wall. But for Kling, and the rest of the women, their monotonous month was a gift from God.

“Dude.” Kling reached forward and tapped Moe’s knee. “Look, the sunflowers are bigger than Abby. They’re huge.”

“Yeah, I know. Everything’s been growing so well.” Morgan said with a small nod. Not only were the sunflowers growing well, they had lettuce, peas, tomatoes. Morgan wasn’t sure what was growing exactly, all she knew was that when she went in for her rations three times a day, there was a good, fresh meal waiting for her. “I’m glad too, that Abby’s been able to relax and work there.”

“Tell me about it.” Kling said. “I can still see the scar from a mile away.”

Pink and obvious, Abby had a scar running across her face, from the corner of her mouth to the top of her ear. She never explicitly said what happened to her, just that she’d gotten caught up. Rumors were she got jumped by a scout for the enemies. Others said a bullet grazed her. Kling figured it was a dumb story, like a piece of splintering wood or broken metal caught her, but the stories kept Abby’s whole ‘badass, fearless leader’ vibe going strong.

“You know what else I can see from a mile away?” Morgan pointed out to the post by their front entrance. It was a life-guard stand, brought in by a patrol that found their way to a pool. It was reinforced with scrap metal and planks of wood, but from Morgan’s angle, she could see Tobin and Alex making out inside. No matter how much she witnessed it-- and she witnessed it a damn lot-- it was still kind of weird. “Those two rabbits.”

“Give them a break, Moe. Tobin’s been waiting like, years, to hop on Baby Horse’s train. If you know what I mean.” Kling winked, and it made Morgan roll her eyes. “I mean, it’s kind of cute though. They’ve gone through a ton of crap for each other. Plus, with Kelley always on their tails--”

“Don’t say anything bad about her.” Morgan cut in immediately. She looked the other way, out towards the paddocks. Kelley, Christen, and JJ were all riding horses together, reins loose and feet kicked out of the stirrups, enjoying the cool summer air. “It’s not like she has Hope anymore.”

Kling pursed her lips and nodded. In the whole month, she could count on one hand the amount of times she’d seen Hope. The woman was a mirage. Most of the group had lost hope for Hope. The chosen few that didn’t-- JJ, Ashlyn, and Tobin -- were the ones that saw her more often when they delivered her food or made sure she was still breathing. It sucked, because Hope was such a role model in the kind of situation they were going through. She was missed, that's for sure, but they couldn’t dwell. Like Carli, they had to move on.

Keep swimming in order to keep from drowning, was how Boxxy worded it.

“Do you think Al’s ever gonna say it?” Morgan asked, and Kling finally tore her eyes away from the home Hope still stayed in. She met Morgan’s brown eyes and blinked.

“What?”

“Do you think Alex is ever going to say ‘I love you’? I talked to Cheney the other day. Her exact words were ‘Tobin says it like the Our Father, but not once have I ever heard Alex say it back’.” Morgan answered.

“It’s only been a month for them.”

“An apoca-month.” Morgan said.

Kling raised her eyebrows. “Apoca-what-now?”

“An apoca-month. It’s what I picked up from Ash and HAO. It’s like… our days are so unknown now, every day we live as an importance it didn’t have back in the normal world, you know what I mean? Like dog years or something.” Morgan explained. “So a regular month is forever in apoca-months. Tobin and Alex, they’ve been together forever.”

“Whatever Ash and HAO are smoking, tell them to bring me some.” Kling said. “Apoca-month. They’re spewing faux-deepness at you, sweetheart.”

“Just saying, times like these, it’s now or never.” Morgan said with a shrug, and Kling hummed.

“What exactly are you getting at?”

“Nothing. Just saying.”

***

Christen and JJ had their horses side by side, watching as Kelley galloped around the paddock. It was one of the few times she looked like she didn’t have a care in the world. JJ looked over at Christen, dark hair falling out of her dusty baseball cap, eyes bright and happy. It was a scene that JJ would never get over. Christen finally looking at peace. With a normal sleeping pattern back, and nightmares a rare occurrence, Christen was back to her normal self.

“I think I’m gonna ask her to join my meditation class.” Christen said quietly, her eyes finally meeting JJ’s. There was a warmth in them that always made JJ feel calm, but at the same time like she was on fire in the best way possible.

“You sure?” JJ asked.

Christen’s meditation class had a pretty solid following, most of the older women like Christie, Boxxy, and Abby, but Pinoe and Brian also showed up a lot. Occasionally one of the New Kids would drift in, or Ash and Ali. JJ never went, because she already felt calm enough, but she knew the class was important to Christen. “Yeah. I think she needs it. The kind of balance that meditation can bring you. Kelley needs that order, that few minutes of complete clearness. It’ll work wonders. I just don’t want her to think that I think she’s going crazy. You know what I mean?”

“I know.” JJ nodded understandingly. “You’re reasoning behind it is good, Chris. I know she’ll see that.”

“Maybe she’d be more receptive if my girlfriend actually supported it.” Christen teased.

“I support it. I just don’t need all that… Chillaxing and balance and stuff.”

“I think you might need the balance.” Christen said, then chuckled. “I’m not dumb, Julie. I see you in the tree watching each of my sessions. And yes, I saw when you almost spilled yesterday. Too bad I was in zen-mode, otherwise I would’ve flipped on you.”

JJ blushed and tucked her blonde hair behind her ear. “Yeah, but if I’m the one closing my eyes and doing all the humming stuff, then I can’t watch you. In the least creepy way possible.”

“Got it. Spying from a tree, not creepy at all.” Christen’s smile became an ever bigger grin when JJ went from blushing pink to tomato red. “I’m kidding; it’s all cool. Seriously, I just don’t want her to think I’m harping about Hope. She says she’s over it, Julie. But I know Kelley; the more she says she doesn’t care, the more she’s hurting. I don’t want to pressure her, but I want to help.”

“Suggest it.” JJ advised. “Like, ‘hey buddy, come do this fun activity with me’. Maybe we could get Tobin and Alex in on it.”

Kelley often alternated between spending her times with Christen and JJ to Tobin and Alex. The alone time for both the couples was few and far between, but no one was complaining about spending time with Kelley. She was still the same dork she’d always been. But all four of the girls, almost babysitters to the freckled woman now, were worried about her. The glances at Hope’s home, the home that had once been Kelley’s, didn’t go unnoticed. The subtle glances at the list of names next in the rationing room, to check that Hope got her breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Kelley said she didn’t care. Didn’t care about Hope the coward. Maybe she got everyone else convinced that she was a hundred percent over the goalkeeper, but her close friends knew that all that was complete bullshit.

“I think I will.” Christen said as Kelley trotted over, flipping her hair back behind her ears. “Hey, Kel! Ready to go inside?”

Kelley smiled, and she almost looked like nothing was wrong. “Hell yeah. Let’s go.”

***

“Car coming.” Tobin mumbled, pulling away from Alex’s kisses at her neck. She peered out of the guard tower, and was surprised to see two cars driving their way instead of the one that Ali, Ashlyn, Syd and Dom left with earlier in the day. However, the car taking the lead was the original car. “Looks like they found us a new ride. A good one too.”

“Hm.” Alex tried to appear interested, but she only had one thing on her mind-- Tobin. The last month had been perfect with her. The guard tower gave them the privacy Alex craved, and her time spent with Tobin was never wasted. Never in a million years would she had ever seen herself falling for the carefree surfer girl, but here she was. Completely head over heels.

“We should probably open the gate.” Tobin said. She turned around, gave Alex a quick kiss, and climbed down the ladder to the gate. Alex had to take a deep breath and straighten out her jacket before following Tobin down. They each took a side of the gate and tugged it open. The first car drove through and pulled off before the second car fit inside.

In an instant, Syd was out of the car and walking towards Alex like a woman on a mission. “A-Morgs. Girl to girl real quick.”

“What’s up?” Alex asked casually, not catching the edge in Syd’s voice. She pushed the gate closed and ran a hand through her hair.

“We kind of went on a run today--”

“Wow, really?” Alex joked, but Syd’s glare made her choke on her laughter. “What are you getting at?”

Syd opened her mouth to explain, but the sound of a car door closing made Alex look past the frantic woman. There was a man Alex swore she recognized, but she couldn’t figure out from where. The man looked at her and his face broke out into a smile, and Alex began to feel uncomfortable.

Tobin put her arm around the brunette. “Is everything good, Syd?”

“No!” Syd exclaimed. “Listen, Alex, I--”

Alex watched as Ashlyn jumped out of the second car, followed by someone Alex knew well. Her jaw dropped open and a million emotions went through her. Relief and shock and happiness. Syd turned and let out an almost-defeated sigh, while Tobin’s arm fell from Alex’s shoulders.

“Servando.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, follow me on tumblr, shoot me an ask, or leave a comment here!


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 29... holy shiz y'all that's a lot of chapters. Anyways, Semi-Finals are tomorrow and I am Red Stars af right now (Sky Blue isn't in it so I have to settle). Hope you enjoy!

Standing in front of Servando again made Alex feel weak all over. “I thought you were dead.”

“At the very beginning of this, you texted me where you might be.” Servando explained, his voice full of emotion. He'd missed Alex so much, her face, her eyes, the way she looked at him like he was the only person in the world. His one and only, his person. “I had to come find you. We’ve been walking or driving nonstop. I couldn’t stop thinking about you, Al.”

Alex stared at him with her mouth still open in shock. Servando, this was her husband, the love of her life. Was. Alex blinked a few times, her emotions were all over the place. She could feel Tobin standing a few yards back, watching her with careful eyes. “You came all the way from… From Florida?”

“Yeah. Eric and I. There were a few more men with us at first, but, you know.” Servando shrugged and tried not to think back to the hardships he and Eric endured. “Life happened.”

“I’m sorry, Serv.” Alex whispered. “I just can’t believe you’re actually here. Oh, God. Wow.”

“What’s going on?” Everyone looked at Abby approaching. She stopped for a second and had to process what was going on. Was that Servando? Abby groaned, that was drama she didn’t feel like getting into. “Dom, please bring the two newbies to Christie to get them checked out. Syd, go to Boxxy and talk to her about rationing. Tobin, back in the tower. Alex, walk with me.”

Alex swallowed thickly and gave Servando a long hug before following Abby. He still felt the same, muscular and vaguely like home. She wasn’t sure if she was in trouble with Abby or not, but she was terrified. Her eyes followed Servando until he disappeared into Christie’s house.

“Baby Horse,” Abby began in a tone softer than Alex expected. “You’re in a tight spot.”

“Shit. Tell me about it.” Alex groaned. She could just imagine Tobin’s heart breaking. It made her want to cry. But she could also imagine Servando’s heart breaking, and that made her want to cry too. That was her husband. She didn’t marry him for nothing. “I’m screwed either way, Abby.”

“I know." It wasn't the answer Alex wanted, but she knew that literally no one had the perfect advice for her situation. "Don’t do anything stupid, Alex. We don’t need drama, okay?” Abby gave her a hard stare before walking off. Alex wanted to melt through the ground and disappear. No matter what she did, she was going to be screwed.

“Hey, champ.” Ashlyn tapped her shoulder. “Are you good?”

“Honestly, no.” Alex answered, pressing the palm of her hand to her forehead. “But, I’ll figure it out, I guess.”

Ali came up as well and put her arm around Alex. “It’ll work itself out. Why don’t you come to meditation with us tonight? You need to clear your head.”

Alex nodded. “Yeah, that sounds good. I’m gonna find Servando; we have some catching up to do.”

“Use protection!” Ashlyn called as Alex began to walk away. Ali smacked her arm.

“Not funny.” Ali said, rolling her eyes. “Poor Alex. God, poor Tobin.”

“You said it yourself, it’ll work out. Come on, let’s go take a nap, today’s been a freaking doozy.”

***

“Thanks for coming to meditation, Kel.” Christen said. The sky was turning orange, and that was usually the time Christen would head out to the paddock and wait for her group to arrive.

“No problem. Sucks that JJ doesn’t wanna come.”

“Yeah, I don’t know.” Christen shrugged. She was probably an ass for throwing JJ under the bus, but complaining about one particular blonde, unsupportive girlfriend got Kelley to tag along. JJ would forgive her. “She thinks it’s stupid or whatever. But thank you for being supportive.”

“What are friends for?” Kelley grinned. “I’m fine with getting my chill on. Especially after today. Did you hear?”

“Yeah. Serv’s back.” Christen said. It was a pretty big thing, and gossip spread quickly when people literally had nothing to do. Kling told Moe who in turn told JJ who relayed the information to Christen. Within half an hour, everyone knew and were collecting around corners to get a look at Alex and her husband, or ex-husband, or whatever. Christen wasn’t sure how it worked since Alex was with Tobin, but it was none of her business.

“I haven’t seen Tobin yet, but she’s probably with Lauren and A-Rod. I don’t wanna pry if she’s hurt. I can’t imagine what Alex is gonna do.”

“Same.”

“Like, Servando was never a jerk. They had a good, legit relationship. I just don’t know what Alex is going to do. She thought he was dead for, what, two months?” Kelley shrugged. “I might go talk to her later, if she’s not with Serv.”

“They’ve been attached at the hip.”

“Hm.”

Christen crossed her arms and waited for the group to show up. Christie and children came first, then Boxxy and her husband, then Alex, Ali, and Ashlyn rolled in. Kelley went over immediately and they talked quietly while Christen began her meditation class. She stopped as another figure began to walk towards them, merely a silhouette. Christen turned and looked up at the tree to check if JJ was there. She was, obscured by branches and waving her arms wildly. Christen raised her eyebrows and looked back at the figure.

Her jaw, along with everyone else’s, dropped.

There, standing in front of her, was Hope Solo. “Hey, Chris.”

“Hope.” Christen hid her surprise behind a bright smile. “Here for meditation?”

“Yeah. Do you mind?”

“Not at all. Everybody is welcome.” Christen could see that Hope was a little nervous. She couldn’t blame the woman, getting integrated back into the group after a month of no contact was going to be difficult. Christen didn’t know whether to be happy that Hope _actually came_ or worried because Kelley was standing there, whispering something to Alex, not having seen Hope yet.

Christen sucked in a deep and motioned for everyone to sit. She winced as she heard a quiet, uncontrollable gasp. Kelley saw her, saw Hope.

“A-alright guys. Criss-cross. Concentrate on breathing.” She locked eyes with Kelley and gave her that ‘you’re good?’ kind-of look. Kelley nodded very slowly and shut her eyes. So much for relaxing meditation. Christen leaned back and took in deep breaths, slowly, in and out.

From JJ’s spot on the tree, it looked like some strange ritual. JJ’s heart was racing for Kelley, and for Hope. The last thing they needed was more drama. JJ also spotted Alex, tucked between Ashlyn and Ali. JJ could only imagine the stuff going through the striker’s head.

JJ smiled, grateful that her and Christen weren’t causing any drama.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter will probably be out Monday night. Look forward to some Kelley n Hope action.. or don't look forward to it... Tread carefully.


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the long wait, i keep getting caught up aka having 4 pages of spanish homework. Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter!

“She’s coming this way.” Kelley whispered worriedly. The half an hour meditation session was over and everyone was leaving, but Hope Solo was heading straight in Kelley’s direction. God. The last time she saw Hope, she’d told the woman to rot. The conversation could only go badly. Alex stared between her best friend and her best friend’s girlfriend-- err, ex girlfriend.

“I can stop her, if you want.” Ashlyn offered.

“I don’t want any part of this.” Alex mumbled, raising her hands in surrender. “I’m going to find Tobin. Good luck, Kel.”

“Good luck to you too.” Kelley answered.

Hope got close enough that all Kelley could concentrate on were her icy blue eyes. She looked better than Kelley figured her to look. Not too haggard or too tired. Kelley sucked in a deep breath.

“Kelley.”

“Hey, Hope.” Ashlyn said before Kelley could reply to Hope. “What’s up?”

“Can I have a moment alone?” Hope asked, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly. The way Ashlyn was glaring at her, and the way Ali had her hand on Kelley’s forearm, was unnerving. They probably didn’t like her very much anymore, Hope figured. She couldn’t blame them.

Ashlyn looked to Kelley for approval and when the freckled girl nodded, Ash and Ali moved off. Kelley shoved her hands into her pockets and looked anywhere except at Hope. She felt guilty. “Hi, Hope.”

“Meditation was fun, huh?” Hope asked. Things had never been awkward between them. It was bizarre.

“Yeah, really… relaxful.” Kelley agreed.

“Relaxful?” Hope asked.

“Relaxing. Full of relaxation.” Kelley rambled. “So, uh… How are you?”

Hope shrugged. “I’m well. I’ve been doing better lately, done a lot of reflection and thinking.”

“Mhm.”

“Well, this is awkward.” Hope said, running her hand through her hair. Kelley bit her lip. It should be her running her hands through Hope’s hair. Kelley felt like she was going to throw up. What was the last thing she’d said to Hope? That Carli would be disgusted with her.

“Yeah.” Kelley mumbled.

“I’m not good at this.” Hope finally said. “But, I was wrong. And the way I acted was wrong. And, therefore, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry, Kelley, for abandoning you, and for ignoring you. I know you needed me, but, to put it simply, I was a dick.”

“God, Hope.” Kelley began to shake, relief flooding her. Hope didn’t hate her. She threw her arms around the taller woman and buried her face into Hope’s shoulder. “I was a dick. I was so mean to you. I was so angry and frustrated and upset and I miss you like hell and--”

“You don’t have to miss me anymore.” Hope promised. She held Kelley out at arm’s length and put her hands on either side of Kelley’s face. “I’m right here.”

Kelley grinned and crashed their lips together. After a whole month of not touching Hope, Kelley had a lot of catching up to do. She tangled her hands in Hope’s hair and got on her tiptoes to get rid of their height difference. Hope gripped Kelley’s waist like at any second, the shorter girl would simply cease to exist. Kelley’s hands traveled from Hope’s hair to her face, deepening the kiss, then down her neck to her shoulders, pulling her closer. She simply couldn’t close enough to Hope. They’d been distant far too long.

Hope pulled away first and took in a breath, her face red and her eyes a shade darker. “I love you. So much.”

“Good.” Kelley answered and pulled Hope in for another searing kiss. Hope lifted Kelley, and Kelley wrapped her legs around the taller woman’s waist. She stroked Hope’s face, tucked her hair behind her ears, any excuse to keep her hands moving and re-memorizing Hope.

Hope pulled away and pressed their foreheads together. “Come home, Kelley.”

“Take me home.”

***

“We did good, didn’t we?” Ashlyn hummed, watching Hope and Kelley from a distance with her arm around Ali’s waist. Ali turned her head and gave Ashlyn a slow, lingering kiss on her cheek.

“I can’t believe you. What’d you even say?”

“I dropped off her food and said, goalkeeper to goalkeeper, that she needed to jump back into the action. She’s Hope fucking Solo. Just start with meditation and slowly reintegrate herself into the action.” Ashlyn explained. Their plan went flawlessly. Everybody agreed that Kelley wasn’t the same Kelley without her stoic girlfriend at her side. “I personally didn’t think Kelley would actually come. Props to Christen and JJ.”

“Have some faith, will you?” JJ said, coming up behind them. “Or in this case, have some _Hope_.”

“Good try, babe.” Christen rubbed JJ’s back and beamed at the other couple. “We really did it. Holy crap.”

“I didn’t think they’d hook up this quickly though.” JJ said with a chuckle as Hope carried Kelley off to their house. “I guess Kel’s not sleeping over anymore, huh?”

“We should all conspire more often.” Ashlyn said, putting her other arm around JJ. “We make a good foursome.”

“Don’t call us a foursome.” Ali objected immediately. “We make a great team.”

“Apocalyptic cupids.” JJ agreed, nodding.

“Can we go grab a snack now?” Christen asked. “Meditation makes me hungry, and Lori told me that there’s a whole box of chocolate bars in the saddle room that Boxxy forget to inventory.”

“Should we invite those two?” Ali asked, pointing to Hope and Kelley, their figures barely visible as they made out on the patio of their house.

“Nah.” Ashlyn said. “I think they have some catching up to do. The last thing that’s on their minds is eating.”

“No, I’m pretty sure that’s the only thing on their mind.” JJ said with a smirk.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter is some Talex and Bling. I'll try to get it out by like, the end of the week, but I'm not going to make any promises. As always, follow me on Tumblr, shoot me an ask, or leave a comment here!


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holy moly 31 chapters. This one is super short but it's just a filler mostly. Hope you guys enjoy!

“Can I come in?” Alex asked, lingering in the doorway. Tobin was laying on the floor, staring at the ceiling with unblinking eyes.

“‘Course.” She answered without looking at Alex.

Alex walked in and awkwardly sat next to Tobin. She pulled her knees up to her chest and waited for Tobin to say something. The silence was long and awkward, until Tobin finally spoke. “I’m not upset at you, you know. We can still talk.”

“You’re not upset?” Alex asked.

“I didn’t say that.” Tobin said. “I am upset, but it’s not directed at you. Fate is out of your hands.”

“I guess.” Alex shrugged. Tobin was her best friend. Maybe that’s what fate was telling her; Tobin and her were destined to remain best friends forever. She wasn’t sure exactly, all she knew was that fate was a total asshole. “I’m not sure what to say. This is a… weird situation, to say the least.”

“He’s your husband.” Tobin said.

“But I’m with you now.”

Tobin finally looked up. Her eyes were bloodshot and it killed Alex that she caused it. “Listen, Al. If you’re here for me to make your decision, I’m not gonna. You’ve got to do what you think is right. What you feel in your heart?”

“What if I don’t know how I feel?” Alex asked softly, her voice cracking. Tobin offered her a sad, watery smile.

“Figure it out. I’ll wait.”

***

“So Hope and Kelley are finally back together.” Morgan said, leaning her head against Kling’s chest. She loved that they didn’t have to worry anymore and she could just appreciate moments like these -- sitting in the outpost with Kling, watching the sunset. Kling was stroking her hair and humming a tune that Morgan couldn’t pinpoint.

“Yeah. Thank God.” Kling replied. “Now everything’s really back to normal.”

“I don’t know about that. Now we’ve got Serv and Alex to worry about.” Morgan shrugged.

“ _We_ don’t.” Kling said. “We don’t have to worry. We just have to stay up here and watch the sun rise and set and cuddle.”

“Yeah.” Morgan sighed happily and watched the sky; a myriad of orange pinks. It looked like a painting straight out of a museum. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? And we’ve got the best view of it all. The sunset, the fields; we’re looking at everyone’s lives as they live them.”

“I mean, that’s all deep and dandy.” Kling said. “But I’ve got an even better view.”

Morgan craned her head up and grinned. “How so?”

“I’m looking at you, moron.”

“You can’t compliment me and call me ‘moron’ in the same sentence.” Morgan laughed, and Kling scoffed.

“I just did.” Kling grinned smugly and kissed the top of Morgan’s head. In the back of Kling’s head, she knew something was coming. She wasn’t sure what, but she just had a feeling. Nothing could stay perfect forever, they couldn’t stay safe for forever. She pressed another kiss down and sighed. “Jeez, Moe, I wish all the time could be like right now.”

“Well then, this moment wouldn’t be as special.” Morgan replied.

“That’s deep, dude.”

***

Alex wasn’t sure who she was walking on eggshells more around -- Tobin or Servando. With Tobin, she didn’t want to break the girl’s heart. With Servando, Alex could only imagine what he would think if he found out about her and Tobin. She could almost guarantee that he wouldn’t be happy about it.

“Alex.” Alex’s eyes snapped up to Servando. He was staying in the spare room at Brian’s house, and Alex figured it would be better if she stayed with him. After all, they were married and had a lot of catching up to do.

“Hey Serv.” She smiled and sat down next to him on the bed, legs dangling over the side. “You have to update me on everything that’s happened.”

Alex wasn’t in the mood to talk, so she figured making Servando talk would be easier than making weird half-conversation. Servando leaned over and draped his arm over her shoulder. “So much happened, Al. We had such a big group when we left Orlando. But we kept moving, kept travelling. We went through legitimate war zones, Alex. Houston, Texas-- it was supposed to be a safe zone. It was gone. Bombed to the dirt. We came across a few military zones, and people left, we got new people. I couldn’t stop until I found you. The world, at least, the USA, is so very different than it used to be.”

“Everything is different.” Alex nodded, both sad and happy and ultimately confused.

“How have things been here?” Servando asked. “Dom told me a little, but I want your take. Are you okay? Have you been holding up well?”

“I’m well. Abby’s got this saying. If you’re not dead, you’re good.” Alex said, staring at her hands.

“You’re quiet.” Servando observed.

“Of course I am.” Alex replied. “Once you’ve seen enough, it makes you quiet.”

If there was one person who knew Alex as well as Tobin did, it was Servando. He could tell she was hiding something, the way she kept her eyes trained on some far-away point, the way she pronounced her words… there was something that Alex wasn’t telling him. It hurt him, made him worried.

“I suppose.” Servando hummed. “Just remember that I love you, alright? No matter what?”

Alex sighed.

_If only you knew._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next up is some O'Solo and the beginning of the next leg of their journey.   
> Also, I think I'm gonna put 3,000 Miles on Hiatus status, at least until I finish this story. It's kinda hard to concentrate on more than 1 story at a time.  
> Also Also, shameless self-promo. Read my Talex one-shot "For You"  
> And as always, follow me on tumblr, shoot me an ask, or leave a comment here!


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING LATELY  
> i've been so busy and i think this is the fourth time i've been on my laptop in the last week or so. I know, I'm terrible. Please forgive me. I'll try to be more consistent, especially since the story is beginning to wind down. Also, second apology. This is a crappy chapter for such a long wait.   
> However, enjoy the story.

“We should be scouting right now.” Hope said breathlessly, loud enough to break Kelley out of her thoughts. Her hands danced across the hem of Hope’s shirts for another burning moment, and then she looked back and up and nodded.

“Yeah. Scouting. Right.”

Hope chuckled. “For some amazing leader, you’re extremely forgetful.”

“Shut up, you’re just really distracting. With your face and everything.” Kelley crossed her arms and allowed Hope to take the car around the block. Their job was to mark what stores could be hit, and mark where zombies were clustered. Since it was only the two of them, they couldn’t really safely go kill any zombies or loot any stores, but Kelley wasn’t complaining about spending time with Hope.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re eloquent?”

“No.”

“Good.” Hope smirked and gave Kelley’s knee a squeeze. She was still surprised that Abby let her leave the compound-- Abby’s trust for Hope was about zilch -- and Hope couldn’t blame her. She knew that no one truly hated her, but she could see the looks of resentment from certain people.

A small part of Kelley was still mad at the older woman, but she tried to ignore it.

“Do you see that?” Hope asked, pointing ahead. It looked like a billboard, but the content was strange. “Hold on, let me pull over and we’ll check it out.”

Kelley squinted at the sign; it was pretty big but propped against the ground as if left there in a hurry. “What the hell is ‘The City’?”

Hope turned the car off and pocketed the keys before getting out. Kelley followed suit, and the pair walked up to the sign. “... Is that Alcatraz?”

The women looked at each other, and then back at the huge painting of Alcatraz Island, the huge jail a stark contrast against the green shrubbery. There was a lot of information to take in on the sign. “Safe Zones in continental America have failed… The UN have secured Iceland and parts of Australia as clean-zones… Bases in Hawaii, St. Simon’s Island -- Moe’s from there!”

“And **YOUR** nearest base is Alcatraz!” Hope read it exactly as it was written, as all the words were bolded and underlined like it was a postcard. “That’s a six hour drive from here, though. Just to San Francisco.”

“Yeah, but do you know what that means?” Kelley asked, excitement bubbling over. “We could get out of here, and be safe! Get to a place where we don’t have to panic over our next meal, Hope. We could be legitimately, completely, safe.”

Hope said nothing, but Kelley could see the wheels turning in her head. “It would be for the best, Hope. It’s worth telling Abby about, anyway.”

“I suppose.”

Kelley glanced over at the blue-eyed woman. “Suppose?”

“Don’t you think it sounds fishy?”

“Maybe. We won’t know until we try.”

***

“So, it’s how long of a drive?” Abby asked. A blind person could see that she still didn’t like having Hope back in their little decision-maker squad, but Kelley’s voice when she said ‘Hope’s here too’ left no room for argument. So they all packed in Abby’s hut, Pinoe sitting on the desk, Hope on the chair, Abby on the bed, and Kelley on the floor.

“If we hit no traffic, about six hours. But we won’t know until we get the lay of the land and see what we’re up against. And then find a boat to reach the island.” Kelley replied, handing her notes from the run up to Abby. Abby rifled through them and hummed.

“But what if they’re like, cannibals?” Pinoe mimed eating her arm.

“No one’s gonna be a cannibal.” Hope scoffed, lightly pushing Pinoe's arm. “It’s probably some militia trying to do the right thing. Which can go either way.”

“I think it’s a good idea.” Kelley spoke up. “If we go there, we’ll finally be back in a community with others. We won’t have to worry and scrounge everyday. There won’t be as much weight on our shoulders all the time.”

“What if it’s just some group trying to lure people in and hurt them?” Pinoe said.

“Pinoe, since when have you been such a pessimist?” Hope asked with raised eyebrows.

“A lot’s changed in the past month.” Abby said, and Hope narrowed her eyes.

“I’ve noticed.”

“ _Anyway_ ,” Kelley cut in smoothly. “We should probably have the group take a vote, and then send a patrol forward as a precautionary measure if they all agree. We’ll take the vote tomorrow and go from there.”

She said it with such finality that no one bothered to argue. She stood up, took Hope’s hand, and added, “Send some of the girls out on a run before sundown”, before leaving with Hope stumbling along behind her. When they got outside, Kelley stopped and made sure Hope wasn’t too upset. Abby was talented at making tiny digs, and Kelley knew Hope was still sensitive.

“She’s such an ass sometimes. I get it, okay?” Hope threw her arms in the air and sighed. “I spaced and I screwed up.”

“You’ve got to understand. Abby’s got the weight of all of us on her. She takes all our burdens, deals with everyone’s issues. I think she took it hardest when you spaced, and you left her high and dry.”

“So you’re on her side?” Hope asked bitterly.

“That’s not what I’m saying. I’m just saying, I understand where she’s coming from.”

Hope crossed her arms. “That doesn’t give her the right to insult me.”

“It’s tough on her.”

I thought you were on my side. Hope thought. “Fine. Whatever.”

“Come on…” Kelley began, but Hope was already stomping off. _Damn it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yup. i know. lowkey drama.   
> Follow me on tumblr, shoot me an ask, or leave a comment here. thanks for reading and sticking with me!


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well y'all, here's chapter 33. Feels like it's been forever that I've been writing this. Thanks for keeping up with it, and I hope you enjoy!

The vote was difficult, to say the least. First off, they had Pinoe going off about all the risks, proposing the most insane scenarios that would only happen in a Sharknado spin-off. The worst thing was that people legitimately agreed that there was a chance that these Alcatraz people were reverse-engineering humans for space travel. Said people included Christie’s children and HAO.

The next issue they had was Abby, who had a ‘we’re going no matter what so you might as well agree’ attitude about it. She was moody at the fact that everyone was looking at Hope like the second coming of Jesus, moody at the fact that they would have to uproot their entire lives and move out, and just generally moody. Pinoe’s voice grated her nerves, Hope looked overwhelmingly smug, and Kelley’s gentle attitude made her want to rip her hair out.

Hope was the one that everyone stared at with stars in her eyes. Her confident smirk, the way she had her hands on her hips and weighed every option carefully, the confident tone in her voice as she stroked the egos of each person watching. Hope was being more charismatic than usual, her smooth voice making the journey sound simple. When she finished her speech, which concluded of a lot of ‘we can totally do this!’, she stepped off the enclosure and her dramatically flourished her hands towards Kelley.

And it took all Kelley had not to poke Hope’s eyes out. She wasn’t allowed to be this outspoken and personable after being such a bitch. Kelley pursed her lips -- she was changing by the second. Maybe she’s trying to phase Abby and I out as leaders. Kelley winced. _No. Hope doesn’t have a hidden agenda. She’s trying to get under your skin._

Kelley bit her lip when Hope took off her black compression shirt, leaving her in only a skin-tight tank. _And it’s fucking working too._

“So… So does everyone agree?” Abby asked loudly, breaking Kelley out of her thoughts. “We’ll lead a patrol down there just so see what’s up. It’ll probably be a trip that takes more than a day, so Boxxy, set up some meals for the girls. Who wants to go?”

Kelley and Hope raised their hands simultaneously. Tobin’s shot up a split-second later, followed by JJ and Christen. Alex stared at Tobin with wide eyes. Normally she would follow suit, stick her hand up and get her backpack ready, but now, she was worried.

Alex Morgan wasn’t one to let a challenge go away, and she _needed_ to talk to Tobin. It was like an invisible magnet was pulling her back towards Tobin. She raised her hand and waited for Abby to point her out and write her name down. Servando made a kind of hissing noise from next to her. “What’re you doing?”

“My job.” Alex replied evenly.

Before Servando could volunteer as well like he wanted to, Kelley jumped back up onto the enclosure. “We’re gonna need a patrol to go out and find gas today, as well as stock up on some extra food. Serv and Ashlyn will be leading those.”

“You’re kidding me.” Servando groaned.

“We should get ready.” Alex said, putting her hand on his chest. She gave him a quick kiss, wanting it to feel right, but no matter what she did, nothing was the same with him anymore. She tried to ignore the fact that when she kissed him, she imagined it was Tobin.

It was hard to ignore.

They held hands all the way up to get their backpacks. Servando tossed his over his shoulder and eyed her worriedly. “I don’t know, Al, I don’t like the idea of you going out there alone.”

“I’m not going alone. The girls will be with me.” Alex said. “Everything will be fine. Can’t you trust me?”

“I trust you. The outside world is what I don’t trust. I’ve seen things.” Servando lowered his voice. “I don’t want you seeing what I’ve seen, Alex. Pinoe wasn’t too far off with some of things she said. It’s more dangerous than you think out there.”

“Some of these people rely on me.” Alex crossed her arms, annoyed that Servando couldn’t just let her go. “People here have children, and those people look at me, and at Kelley and Hope and Christen, as their protectors. This is something I have to do.”

Servando rolled his eyes, obviously not agreeing with anything Alex said. But he didn’t argue any further, just shouldered his backpack a little more. “Well, I should probably round up some troops and get ready. I love you.”

Alex swallowed thickly. “You too.”

“And please, be careful. For me?”

“For you, of course.”

Not even a second after Servando disappeared, Kelley walked into the room. She winked at Alex. “Do you think he hates me?”

Alex chuckled. “Maybe a little bit. Why’d you do it, though?”

“Please, Al.” Kelley scoffed. “He wanted to come along and I didn’t want him to. Not to sound like an ass or anything, but Tobin is my best friend and you’re my best friend too. There’s nothing I want more than my two best friends being together; you make each other happy. I like Serv and all, but it’s not the same between you too. You look upset, Alex, when you’re with him.”

“I’m trying not to be, honestly.” Alex sighed.

“What do you want to do, Alex?” Kelley asked. “It’s not that hard.”

“Yes it is.”

“Come on. You know.” Kelley shrugged. “What’s it like to have your life? Two people madly in love with you, and I can’t even keep Hope happy for a day.”

“She’s trying to get a reaction, Kel. You’re a conniving, manipulative, bitch; you can play her game too.”

“That is so true. You’re right, Ale-- Did you just call me a bitch?”

Alex was already walking away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on Tumblr, shoot me an ask, and leave me a comment here!


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I was supposed to post this last night but I kinda watched four episodes of Defiance instead so here I am posting this in the morning. I know. I'm terrible.  
> Anyway, you guys should def check out Dancing in the Dark by Stephcxv! It's a quality read  
> hope you enjoy this chapter!

Hope and Kelley took the van, Alex and Tobin got a green SUV, and Christen and JJ took the white sedan. Kelley had a map with a path marked, and Hope was in the driver’s seat with one hand on the wheel and the other on the gear shift. Kelley wanted to think that Alex was right, and that she could play Hope’s game too, but she truthfully didn’t want to. She was sick of arguing with Hope and having a bad back-and-forth. All she wanted to do was lean against Hope’s shoulder while the older woman drove and enjoy their time, instead of teetering on eggshells. Especially when they were going to be in the car together for six-plus hours.

“Are we still fighting?” She finally asked tiredly.

Hope didn’t even look at her. “Are you still on Abby’s side?”

“On Abby’s side? I’m on no one’s side. I’m on my own side; trying to do the best thing. I thought you and I were on the same side, but I breathe and you jump down my throat.” Kelley didn’t sound angry or argumentative, her voice was quiet and quick like she was holding back her emotions.

“I’m not jumping down your throat.”

“Yes, you are.” Kelley sighed. “Why can’t you just let us be happy?”

“You’ve taken over as leader.” Hope said after a long pause.

“And…?”

“And I don’t want to see you lose yourself. I know you think what you’re doing is great, but you have so much pressure on your shoulders. You’re not used to it.”

“I’m not going to fall apart. You need to have faith in me. Instead of arguing with me, please, we need to support each other.” Kelley covered Hope’s hand with her own. “We can do that, right?”

Hope just barely smiled and tangled her fingers with Kelley’s. “I believe we can.”

***

About an hour and a half out from the ranch, just barely out of their normal territory, the group hit their first obstacle. The highway, originally their intended way of getting to San Francisco, was blocked. An overturned city bus blocked the entire on-ramp, and several other cars were scattered around it, abandoned. Four zombies paced the length of the bus, occasionally letting out an eerie screech.

“Well, guess the easy way is out.” Kelley grumbled. Hope stared at the map for a while and finally pointed to an alternate route.

“We can bypass this entirely and got on the next exit.”

“That’s going the other way though.”

“Kel. We can drive the same way. We don’t have to go north on the north anymore.”

“That is so true.”

Hope carefully navigated the streets and back onto the highway. Behind the bus, there were about thirty or so zombies mulling. Kelley’s eyes widened just a little bit. When they never left their little bubble, sometimes it was hard to remember just how bad the world was getting. Hope noticed the small change in Kelley’s face and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

The highway was smooth sailing after that. There were a few cars pulled over on the side of the road, and a few zombies lingered, but nothing challenged them. Kelley rolled down the window and leaned her arm out. Hope leaned back and relaxed more than usual.

“So what’s the first thing you’ll do once we get to Alcatraz?” JJ asked Christen, smiling at the tanned girl. Christen shrugged.

“Probably take a shower. Like a legit one; not some cold-water, thirty-second deal. I feel like the dirt is part of my skin now. What about you?”

“Eat some real food.” JJ’s mouth watered at the thought. “Steak and potatoes, the whole nine yards, you know? I just-- I also don’t want to get my hopes up. We know how quickly things can change around here.”

JJ trailed off and crossed her arms, staring out the window. The trees flew by in a blur, all greens and browns and yellows mixed together. Christen didn’t want to take either of her hands off the wheel, but she quickly glanced at the blonde. “I know. Which is why this is good. Things are going to change from difficult to great, very soon.”

“Do you think there’s gonna be a lot of people?” JJ asked.

“I hope. It’d be nice to be back in a community. The kids would have kids to play with. The adults would have adults to… do adult stuff with.”

“Adult stuff?” JJ laughed. “What does adult stuff entail?”

“Taxes.” Christen answered without missing a beat. The car was silent for a few seconds before they both burst into hysterical laughter. Christen nearly swerved off the road, which only caused them to laugh even harder. As they laughed, JJ leaned against Christen and rested her hand on Christen’s knee.

“Taxes, Chris.” JJ’s laughter died down. She tilted her head so that she could look and Christen, all tan skin and piercing eyes and a smile that could light up the darkest night. “God, I love you.”

Christen’s eyebrows raised and for a split second, JJ felt worried. Maybe it was too soon for that. An ‘I love you’. But then Christen let out a slight chuckle and stopped concentrating on the road for a split second to kiss JJ’s forehead. “Yeah. I love you too.”

“Good.”

“Great.”

***

The peaceful air didn’t last very long.

“Another pile up.” Hope sighed. This one was worse, the concrete divider between the roads completely decimated. Shattered glass and car parts were littered about the ground. It looked like a bomb went off and destroyed everything around it.

“We can’t turn around and go back.” Kelley said. “It goes on for miles, Hope, look.”

“I know.” Hope got out of the car and motioned for the rest of the girls to follow suit. The gathered in a circle, all standing on their tiptoes, peering at the endless sea of vehicles and accidents and carnage.

“We’re letting the team down if we go back now.” Christen said. “We can’t do that to them.”

“We could always walk.” Tobin suggested. “It would take longer, but maybe we could find a car on the other side and go from there.”

They all balked at the idea of walking that far. However, their options were limited. Kelley knew that all the girls were looking to Hope for an answer, but none came. And then, Kelley realized with a jolt, that Hope was looking at her for an answer. She was looking to Kelley to make the call. Kelley stood a little straighter, dusted off her shirt, and decided. “We’ll leg it. This isn’t something we can just give up on. We were given this mission for a reason; us, not anyone else. It’s not going to be easy.”

“Easy is boring.” JJ shrugged.

Kelley grinned and intertwined her fingers with Hope’s. It was only 350 miles, that wasn’t too far. Except it would definitely take more than a day. A lot more than a day. Kelley tried not to think about those minor details. They would take it one step at a time and see where it took them. Hope squeezed Kelley’s hand. “Ready to roll?”

“Ready.” Christen chirped, putting her arm over JJ’s shoulder.

“Ready.” Alex echoed, brandishing her pistol. Tobin looked over at Alex and nodded, adding a small ‘ditto’.

“Ready.” Kelley said, tugging Hope’s hand as she turned around. “Let’s do this.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! Follow me on Tumblr, send an ask, or leave a comment here!


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